DAVAO CITY (MindaNews) — The City Government of Davao plans to start the construction of a 100-bed capacity Davao City Hospital this year at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao (UPMin) campus in Tugbok district, Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte, a doctor, said.
Villafuerte told Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Thursday that they have been working on the draft ordinance for the establishment of the city government-owned Level 3 hospital, which will rise on a 3.28-hectare property within the UP Mindanao campus.
She said the local government targets the groundbreaking this year. She said the project needs a budget of around 300 million pesos.
She said the proposed ordinance will be presented to the City Council for second reading. An ordinance is necessary to be granted permit to construct the facility, she said.
Once the ordinance is approved, Villafuerte said the local government will apply for financial assistance with the Health Facility Enhance Program (HFEP) of the Department of Health (DOH).
She said Mayor Sara Duterte assured financial support for the construction of the hospital.
Villafuerte said the construction of the city hospital will take18 months.
“This is going to be quite a big project because this is a 100-bed hospital and we want it to be a Level 3,” she said.
Villafuerte explained that a Level 3 or tertiary hospital offers services such as subspecialty surgery, OB-GYN department, and internal medicine; has fully functional laboratory; and can qualify as a training hospital, among others.
She said the construction of a Level 3 hospital would be a win-win for both the local government and UP Mindanao as the city needs its own healthcare facility for its constituents while the state university needs a hospital to run a medical school.
She said city officials inspected the proposed site on March 18.
Villafuerte said the board of the hospital would be composed of the city mayor as chair, chancellor of UP Mindanao as vice chair, and representatives of the Philippine General Hospital, Department of Health,and chancellor of UP Manila as members. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
