CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — In his report on the first 100 days in office, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival announced that additional work is needed on the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).
This follows an independent audit of its structure, which revealed that at least ₱403 million is required for necessary rectification works.
Although he acknowledged that they did not meet their initial projections, Archival presented assessments and new plans for the disputed CCMC.
He noted that while his administration originally aimed to complete the facility within a year and a half, they have now extended the projected completion date to 2028, which is the end of his term.
Archival stated that when he took on the role of mayor of Cebu City, the findings from the CCMC’s assessments hindered them from following the initially planned timeline. He mentioned that even during the campaign period, they were not fully aware of the building’s actual condition and had anticipated that construction on the remaining floors could be completed in just a year and a half.
“But tungod sa kakomplikado, nakita gyud ninyo sa atong report,” said the mayor.
In his report, Archival recalled that the city had already awarded contracts worth a total of about ₱1.8 billion to four contractors, covering Phases 1 to 4 of the construction. Among these awarded contracts, one contractor, ME Sicat, had been terminated. Despite this, the city government still has at least ₱1.138 billion to pay for the awarded contracts.
Since 2014, the city has already paid a total of ₱940 million to at least five contractors tasked with constructing the CCMC.
It can be remembered that, following a call from the City Council, at least 25 volunteer engineers and architects conducted a full technical assessment to determine the hospital’s structural integrity. It was through these independent assessments that the ₱403 million worth of rectifications was identified.
Archival then reported that for Phases 1 to 4, there is a need to address contractors’ deficiencies from the ground floor up to the third floor. “So dili ni pwede nga atong diretsoon pag-award nga wala raman diay gihapon,” he said.
For Phase 5, the mayor added, the awarded contract worth ₱684 million, granted to Dakay Construction, remains under review due to “inconsistencies in the Project of Work and Estimates (POWE).” Phase 5 is supposed to cover the completion of the edifice from the fourth to the sixth floors.
Archival stressed that if construction proceeds without first resolving these inconsistencies, the government will no longer be able to determine which portions were not properly delivered by the contractors. He also did not discount the possibility of irregularities during the bidding process, suggesting that the contractor may have arranged the POWE to fit the government’s allotted budget.
While the review of the final phase continues, Archival said that if the inconsistencies found during the initial review are proven, the decision on how to proceed will be left to the Bids and Awards Committee and the City Legal Office.
In line with these findings, Archival said that the processes they now have to go through may further delay the completion of the CCMC. Despite this, he committed that the facility will be fully operational by 2028.
“Mao nay atong goal. Ato lang gipatas-an (projected completion), pero kung maka-deliver ta’g sayo, mas maayo, because as per report sa engineers, mahuman na ang pag-rectify…within three to four months, kung naa la’ng gyu’y budget,” said Archival.
It was reported that, before then-Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia left office, he named Dakay Construction as the winning bidder for the controversial CCMC project, despite an unfinished City Council investigation into the project’s delays and issues.
Garcia signed the contract with Dakay, which allows for a 240-calendar-day construction period, equivalent to eight months. He clarified that the agreement covers only the third to seventh floors and that completing the remaining upper floors would require a separate contract—one he intended to leave to the incoming administration.
The project’s budget is approximately ₱700 million—an amount left over from previous construction before it was halted. Garcia also clarified that the inclusion of the seventh floor involves applying the final touches.
The previous Cebu City Council was in the midst of investigating the issues and delays surrounding the CCMC project, an inquiry that began following a privilege speech by then-councilor Mary Ann de los Santos. This led to a series of executive sessions to review the project’s processes.
During the ongoing investigation, several City Council members questioned the seemingly hasty bidding process, even though executive sessions to address project concerns were still underway.
In response, Garcia maintained that the decision was not rushed, emphasizing that the CCMC project has already been delayed for ten years.
Additionally, it was reported that the eighth to tenth floors were originally intended to be funded through private donations initiated under the administration of then-mayor Michael Rama.
| Written by Iris Hazel Mascardo/RAE (Photo from Cebu City News)
