Cebu City told to stop fund drive for new hospital

WORKERS at the condemned building that housed the Cebu City Medical Center move equipment out of the building shortly after the Oct. 15 quake. TONEE DESPOJO/CEBU DAILY NEWS

CEBU CITY—The Cebu City government has been asked to stop raising funds to build a new hospital without a permit from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The city government is soliciting donations to replace the structure housing the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) that suffered heavy damage after the Oct. 15 earthquake that struck Cebu and Bohol.

On Oct. 21, the city government launched the “Piso Mo, Hospital Ko” campaign to raise P1.5 billion, the estimated cost of the proposed new and better equipped Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) building.

The 45-year-old structure on Natalio Bacalso Avenue, that housed the CCMC, was declared “unfit for occupancy” after the quake.

Pelagio Apostol, deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, said the city government has to comply with Presidential Decree No. 1564, or the Solicitation Permit Law, which regulates the “solicitation of donations and voluntary contributions in order to obviate illegal fund drives.”

Section 2 of the law requires persons, corporations or groups soliciting funds for charitable purposes to secure permits from DSWD regional offices.

DSWD Administrative Order No. 14 Series of 2007, which sets the rules and regulations for public solicitations, require applicants for a solicitation permit to pay a processing fee of P500 to conduct local fund drives and P1,000 for national fund drives.

Violators face a fine of not more than P1,000 or imprisonment of not more than one year or both upon the discretion of the court.

“It’s about time people know that we have a law regulating solicitations. I’m not uttering empty words here. We have the Solicitation Permit Law and even the private foundations are not exempted,” Apostol said.

But Cebu City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete said the city would continue with its fund raising campaign unless a court stops it.

So far, Cebu City has raised at least P7.7 million, including a P5 million donation from SM Prime Holdings Inc. and P1 million from Chong Hua Hospital owned by the Asocacion Benevola de Cebu Inc. (not Perpetual Succour Hospital as mentioned in an earlier report), according to Diwa Cuevas, Cebu City acting treasurer.

Donations are being collected in empty water bottles placed in the city hall, other offices and in two city-owned vehicles that roam the city to solicit funds.

Proceeds are counted daily by the city treasurer’s office and public information office and recorded in a log book.

“Solicitations have to be regulated because it can be subject to abuse,” said Apostol.

Lawyer Jerone Castillo, city legal officer, said the law that Apostol mentioned applied only to the private sector. “There is no mention of local government units. This means the law does not apply to LGUs,” said Castillo.