MARAWI CITY —– The construction of a general hospital in Barangay Datu Naga in Marawi City will complement the Amai Pakpak Medical Center, currently the only government-run hospital in Marawi.
Dr. Adriano Subaan, director of Department of Health (DOH) Region 10, said the two hospitals will complement each other similar to how the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) and the JR Borja General Hospital (JRBGH) in Cagayan de Oro City work together,
The NMMC is a DOH-maitained hospital while JRBGH is run by the LGU of Cagayan de Oro.
“The APMC will be the apex hospital in this part of Mindanao so the Marawi General Hospital can provide services and that will complement the services of APMC so there will be a referral system,” Subaan said during the ground breaking ceremony of the P290-million general hospital in Marawi on November 27.
Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) and the LGU of Marawi broke ground to commence the construction of the 50-bed capacity three-story hospital inside the most affected area (MAA).
The first phase of the P62 million project, was taken from the P3.5 billion 2020 fund for Marawi rehabilitation program according to Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, also the TFBM chairman.
The remaining P228 million will be sourced from the 2021 Marawi rehabilitation fund worth P5 billion.
To be called Marawi City General Hospital, it will be a three-storey hospital “with complete level of medical equipment and ambulance” according to Dr. Dave Mendoza, Local Health Support Division Chief of the DOH Northern Mindanao.
The actual construction will start before the end of 2020 or at the within the first 15 days of January 2021, and will be completed by December 2021 according to the TFBM.
“It will take ten (10) months to construct the hospital. The construction time will not exceed December 31, 2021,” said DHSUD Chief of Staff Zyril Carlos during the press briefing after the ground breaking.
“This ground breaking symbolizes the rising up of the health sector in Marawi that was destroyed by the armed conflict (in 2017),” Subaan said.
With the construction of a LGU-run hospital in Marawi, the DOH is looking forward to the establishment of an efficient city-wide health system aligned with the universal health care thrust of the DOH, according to Subaan.
“The health referral system, the health facilities systems were destroyed, the health workers were displaced and also affected (during the Marawi siege). Even the private sector, the owners of the pharmacy, the clinics of private hospital were also displaced,” Subaan recalled.
Aside from the operation of the hospital, LGU Marawi will take care of the staffing.
Mayor Majul Gandamra said the establishment of this hospital is a big help for the city since many private hospitals were greatly affected and damaged because of the siege in 2017.
The local chief executive also said the hospital will augment the services being given by the AMPC which is now overwhelmed with patients due to the coronavirus disease pandemic.
“Napakalaking tulong ang pagpagawa ng hospital (The establishment of the hospital is a big help). It can augment the services being given by the existing government hospital, the APMC. Sa panahon po ngayon ng existing pandemic, naging sentro po sa ating APMC (During the pandemic, AMPC has been the center for accommodating patients),” said Gandamra.
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