THE construction of the new Mandaue City College (MCC) building and a modern Mandaue City Hospital (MCH) is set to begin this year after both projects were funded under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), city officials announced.
City Administrator Gonzalo Malig-on Jr. said Mandaue City secured P415 million for the hospital project and P450 million for the MCC under the national budget, with implementation expected by the end of the first quarter of the year.
Malig-on said the projects fulfill the long-standing vision of Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano to expand access to education and improve healthcare services in the city.
“The mayor’s vision of building the Mandaue City College and upgrading the Mandaue City Hospital will finally begin this year, hopefully toward the end of the first quarter,” Malig-on said.
However, Malig-on clarified that the amounts reflected in the GAA do not yet cover the total funding requested by the city.
He said additional financial pledges from national officials are expected to be released in phases.
The City Government announced that it had secured around P1.5 billion in funding pledges for both projects following Ouano’s visit to the Senate in August last year, where he sought support for Mandaue City’s priority infrastructure projects.
Malig-on emphasized that senators’ pledges are only considered confirmed once they are included in the GAA.
Among those who pledged support were Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, and Raffy Tulfo.
Mandaue City Lone District Representative Emmarie “Lollypop” Ouano-Dizon also committed funding assistance.
Malig-on said a substantial portion of the approved GAA allocation came from the endorsement of Congresswoman Ouano-Dizon.
He added that the City Government has not yet received the official breakdown showing which senators’ allocations were included in the current GAA.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will serve as the implementing agency for both projects.
To ensure quality, especially for the hospital, the City Government is currently conducting a detailed engineering design (DED), which will be adopted and followed by the DPWH.
The DED is being funded by the City Government and is currently ongoing.
Malig-on noted that hospital planning is more complex compared to the college project, but said the City is grateful that both projects were included in the national budget.
“The mayor and the congresswoman are very happy that their dream for the people of Mandaue City is finally becoming a reality,” Malig-on said.
Once completed, the projects are expected to upgrade the Mandaue City Hospital into a Level II facility and establish a new MCC campus at Norkis Park in Barangay Looc.
The existing Mandaue City College is currently located within the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex in Barangay Centro.
Although only the first phases of the projects are funded this year, Malig-on said the initial allocation is sufficient to begin construction.
“Based on initial feedback, the initial budget is enough for the first phase, particularly the first hospital building,” Malig-on said.
He added that the facility can already be used once the initial building is completed, even as further development continues.
He assured the public that operations at the existing Mandaue City Hospital will not be disrupted during construction.
Construction of both projects is expected to start this year after the completion of the detailed engineering design and the procurement process by the DPWH.
Meanwhile, Ouano said the City is also coordinating with Cebu Technological University (CTU), which secured P80 million in funding for a separate project that will be located on the same site as the new Mandaue City College.
Ouano said soil testing is currently underway, and construction for both MCC and CTU may begin around April.
“We are still studying the site and coordinating the layout because the area is about 7,000 square meters. We are determining where to place the buildings and how many multipurpose structures can be built,” Ouano said.
He noted that MCC currently has around 5,000 students, similar to CTU, and space planning is crucial to accommodate future growth.
The mayor said the total cost of the MCC project is estimated at around P700 million, but only about half of that amount has been included in the current GAA.
“As of now, only part of the funding has been downloaded through the national GAA. Half of it was secured through the efforts of Congresswoman Lollypop and the senators. Next year, we will seek additional funding so the project can be fully completed,” Ouano said.
He said he has instructed the DPWH to ensure that even if the buildings are not yet fully completed, some floors should already be usable.
“I emphasized to the DPWH that even if the entire building is not finished, some floors should already be functional and usable. The land is owned by the city, and soil testing is already ongoing,” he said.
The same phased approach will be applied to the city hospital project.
“For the city hospital, it will also be done by phase. Once a few floors are completed, they will immediately be operational and can already be used by the public,” Ouano said. (ABC)