THE construction of other facilities within the newfound compound of Loon Hospital, dubbed Congressman Natalio Castillo Memorial Hospital in Loon town, is still on-going 10 years after the earthquake on October 15, 2013 when visited by this writer lately.
Aside from the main structure or building of the hospital undertaken by Manila-based contractor that remains unfinished, the construction of pathway and covered walk worth P4,086,000.00 by JECK Contractor is on-going.
Another on-going project is the construction of P4,777,637.38 perimeter fence by Gerson Construction and Hardware Supply. All these are administered by Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO).
The other projects in the form of health facilities as part of the hospital were also rendered unfinished.
During the recent actual visit of this writer, the Dialysis Center constructed beside the new hospital in barangay Canhangdon was not finished and concrete posts with rustic iron bars are visible.
The cost of the project is P11,300,000.00 constructed by JE Arradaza Construction and Supply and implemented by administration thru the Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO) based on the ruined tarpaulin posed nearby. This was started during the administration of then Gov. Arthur C. Yap, a guard, who did not give his name here said.
Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) earlier said that the said dialysis facility has been given budget for its construction.
Another unfinished building during the past administration is the construction of Sewage Treatment Facility with Biological and Nutrient Removal. It is worth P5,661,895.32 and constructed by Chem-Earth Technologies, Inc.
Both projects have no printed dates for the work start and finish in the torn tarpaulins.
The contractor, Medikotek, Inc., who was tasked to build a new building of Congressman Natalio Castillo Memorial Hospital (CNCMH) in Loon town, is likely liable for damages and its failure to finish it, Provincial Engineer Camilo Gasatan bluntly told this writer in an interview.
He said lately that its work contract has been terminated after it has been given two deadlines—in March and June this year.
The construction of a new hospital building and the area, owned and managed by the provincial government, was prompted after its buildings and the site where it sits were badly destroyed by 7.2 magnitude earthquake on October 15, 2013.
Some three buildings of the old hospital were rendered unfit for patients and its site for a hospital. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MGB-DENR) advised and recommended to relocate the hospital after the earthquake.
Then the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, who spent a night in Loon town, personally handed over the check of P70 million to hospital authorities in a ceremony held at the ruined old hospital building just few days after the earthquake hit the entire Bohol.
The seed money was meant to start construction for an entirely new hospital building.
DELAY
The construction was supposed to start in 2016, three years after the earthquake and two years after that, the hospital construction began reportedly. The delay was further aggravated due to difficulty in locating a suitable site for the new buildings to construct based on MGB’s recommendation, the report said.
Gasatan said that the Manila-based contractor was given by Gov. Aris Aumentado deadline to finish the job, first, in March this year. But no completion was done.
He said that the contractor was sent by a notice to terminate the job. And they responded which made the provincial government to give them a chance to finish it by June 2023 as the deadline. But still it did not finish. The provincial government has to terminate the contract and blacklisted the contractor, he added.
The contractor said earlier in a report that the slowdown of its works was caused by material prices increase and its slow delivery of these materials procured from Manila. It also cited the impact of the pandemic and December 2021 super typhoon “Odette” that devastated the entire province as reasons for the delay.
ANNUAL BUDGET
The hospital’s annual budget is placed at a total of P68,202,597.63 in 2023, the annual provincial budget showed.
It is higher than P64,526,096.72 and P44,959,454.39 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Once finished, the bed occupancy is expected to be increased, the report said.
Loon hospital is one of the ten hospitals devolved to the provincial government of Bohol after the effectivity in 1992 of the Local Government Code of 1991. (rvo)
