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Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Tom proposes Capitol takeover of CCMC as part of land swap
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
In a bid to get Capitol to agree to the land swap deal, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is offering the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) to the governor to form part of the proposed land swapping.
Osmeña announced his plan to turn over the city hospital to Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday, but he still has to discuss it formally with her and consult the City Council on the matter.
The mayor admitted the proposal will be a controversial and ticklish issue since he cannot authorize it on his own and will need the approval of the City Council, if the governor agrees to it.
Osmeña announced his plans after occupants of Province-owned lots in Barangays Luz and Apas sought the City Govern-ment’s help after Capitol sent them notices of eviction.
“While we appreciate the wisdom of the governor of having to protect the interest of the Province, we will also make a counter-offer on how to handle these things. We’ll be ready to negotiate and I’m confident we may be able to work something out,” he told a news conference.
The mayor said, though, that he will have to sit down first with the City Council to discuss other proposals that he may raise to the governor, one of which is having the Province take over CCMC.
The city hospital eats up around P140 million of the City’s annual budget.
“I have to talk to the council because we have some other areas of proposal that they might want to take up with the governor. For example, the governor is interested in running a major hospital, so I’m ready to give up CCMC since she’s much better in running a hospital,” he told reporters.
“I’ll give it to her but she has to take the employees with it. It might be a better situation for us,” he continued.
Last week, Garcia also announced plans that Capitol may soon take over the primary and secondary services of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and run it as an economic enterprise.
In a phone interview, City Councilor Christopher Alix said he is in favor of the mayor’s plan provided that the city’s constituents will not be left out and will continue to be provided hospital services.
The mayor has repeatedly threatened to close down CCMC because of the poor management, congestion and inefficiency of its staff.
When he brings up the proposal to the governor, the mayor aims to hit two birds with one stone.
The mayor hopes the land swapping deal will push through and the services at CCMC will improve if the governor accepts the offer.
Osmeña said he already mentioned the proposal to the governor casually, “but she wasn’t too sure about it.”
“If we have to shut it down, we have to pay so much for the terminal benefits of the employees. So now, if the Province wants it, they can have it. But I know it’s a very controversial and ticklish situation because I’m not authorized to do this by myself. I don’t know how the governor and the council will feel about it,” the mayor added.
Garcia shelved earlier this year Osmeña’s land swap proposal, which would have benefited some 5,000 families occupying Province-owned lots in the city.
Under the proposal, the City will turn over to Capitol a 34-hectare property at the North Reclamation Area in exchange for the Province’s lots in 10 barangays.
Since the Provincial Board and the governor decided to cancel the deal after the council criticized the land swap deal, Capitol has been issuing notices of eviction to the occupants of the provincial lots.
Earlier, the mayor also offered to have the Province manage the Cebu North Bus Terminal, an accommodation he is willing to give to advance negotiations for the approval of the land swapping.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 1, 2006 issue)
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