Cebu City hospital fund drive eyes foreign aid

CEBU City Hall’s fund-raising campaign for a new city hospital building attracted a few foreign donors over the weekend.

Edilberta Eisler of Kunna Austria inserted a five euro bill (about P297) in a letter to Mayor Michael Rama last Oct. 16.

A copy was posted in City Hall’s Facebook account.

While the city eyes the fire department building across the street as a temporary site, the Philippine National Red Cross proposed setting up canvas tents for a temporary hospital.

PNRC chairman Richard Gordon said they can set this up if the city government can provide enough space. The Red Cross has done this before in other calamity-hit areas in the country.

He spoke dring the PNRC’s 18th National Youth Congress at Lapu-Lapu City.

A “Piso Mo, Hospital Ko” fund drive led by Mayor Michael Rama has raised close to P6 million so far in donations for a new and bigger hospital that would cost over P1 billion even as the City Council prefers spending P25 million to retrofit the existing structure so it can be used sooner.

This includes the P5 million donation from SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy and the half a million peso donation from Davao City.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano also gave P100,000.

“The P1.5 billion target isn’t hard to achieve because we are getting so much support. Having a new hospital is not an impossible dream,” Councilor Mary delos Santos said.

Unsafe

Delos Santos was tapped by Mayor Rama to oversee preparations for a temporary city hospital at the city fire department lot near the abandoned Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

Delos Santos said she’s working with some civic groups to expand the city’s campaign to reach Cebuanos working abroad.

The city also opened a BDO trust fund account with account number 002-6800-79333 to accept cash donations. Rama ordered the CCMC vacated after structural engineers declared the building unsafe for occupancy due to quake damage that includes large cracks in the three-story building.

The hospital’s 133 patients were first transferred to the BFP lobby, gym and chapel.

Those in critical condition were referred to other hospitals in the city.

Delos Santos said no news patients will be admitted in the meantime.

Cebu City’s firefighters were relocated to the Pari-an substation.  Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac and Correspondent Edison delos Angeles