CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama made the completion of a new city hospital building before his second term ends as both his birthday and Christmas wish yesterday.
Rama is inviting Cebuano architects, urban planners, and engineers to coordinate with Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos to help design the new city hospital building.
“(But) where will money come from? I know that even the poor will be part of it (fund-raising activity),” he said as he celebrated his 59th birthday yesterday and heard mass with his son, Mikel, at the Asilo dela Milagrosa church.
He also shared breakfast which he ordered from a fast food chain with orphans there.
In his lunch time press conference, Rama told reporters that he is now more determined to pursue the construction of a new city hospital.
He criticized the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) bloc in the City Council for insisting on having the hospital retrofitted instead of building a new one.
He said he wasn’t surprised because former mayor Tomas Osmeña also wanted the CCMC either closed or sold.
Funding concerns
Engr. Ariel dela Cruz, the city’s structural consultant, recommended retrofitting in the CCMC inspection report which he gave Rama after the Oct. 15 earthquake.
But he told the council during an executive session last Friday that if he were to have his way, he wanted a new hospital that complies with the Structural Code of the Philippines.
Rama said the council should have met with him and discussed their concerns on CCMC before making a public announcement that they wanted the hospital retrofitted.
“The answer is building a new hospital to get quality in structure, quality in service and quality of landscape,” he said.
He said that CCMC remains as the best alternative to the already overcrowded Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and the expensive private hospitals.
Councilor Margot Osmeña, the council’s budget committee chairperson, said in a press statement last Sunday that whether or not the city government will retrofit CCMC or build a new hospital building is not a very important concern.
Rama said he would even welcome famous designer Kenneth Cobonpue if he can volunteer his talent in helping design a new CCMC building.
Alvin Garcia, former city mayor and now his office consultant, also volunteered to make representations with his contacts to help in the city’s fund-raising campaign for a new city hospital building. Rama said that funding concerns should be thought of later.
“It will always bring charity. It easily creates a magnet. Generosity is infectious. Money will just flow in if you bring people to the understanding that we are one,” he said. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac