NEWLY appointed Provincial Health Officer (PHO) II Sheila Faciol said she will prioritize improving hospital facilities, completing manpower requirements, and strengthening coordination with rural health units (RHUs) to enhance Cebu province’s healthcare system.
Faciol, who took her oath on Monday, May 4, 2026, will oversee the province’s 16 hospitals under Gov. Pamela Baricuatro’s healthcare agenda.
She said the Provincial Government is reviewing staffing and facility needs while upgrading equipment and increasing medical personnel in Capitol-run hospitals.
She also said the Provincial Health Office will strengthen primary healthcare by working with around 50 RHUs and providing local government units with more logistics support, medicines and training.
“Our rural health units need to be capacitated,” she said.
A former municipal health officer of Pinamungajan town and assistant city health officer of Bogo City during the Covid-19 pandemic, Faciol will work with Provincial Health Officer I for hospitals, Jenina Canoy, to improve coordination and service delivery across the province.
Faciol said residency training programs at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center will continue to help general practitioners specialize while remaining within Cebu’s healthcare system.
Capitol public health consultant Dr. Nikki Catalan said the number of doctors in Cebu’s provincial hospitals rose by 71 percent, from 177 in July 2025 to 303 as of April 15, 2026, with 126 doctors added to the healthcare system. / CDF