MORE than a year after it was turned over to the Cebu City Government, the P9.9-million Super Health Center in Barangay Labangon remains unused because officials cannot locate key construction and occupancy documents, including a building permit.
Funded by the Department of Health (DOH), the facility is intended to provide services beyond those offered by regular barangay health centers and help reduce patient loads at Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
The DOH turned over the facility on May 5, 2025. Then mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said the City hoped to open it by June.
Mayor Nestor Archival’s chief of staff, Kenneth Siasar, said Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, that the City has yet to formally accept and occupy the facility because required documents remain missing.
Missing permits
Siasar said the missing records include the building permit and other construction documents that should have been secured while the facility was being built. The center also needs a certificate of occupancy from the City’s Office of the Building Official (OBO).
The issue surfaced after Archival visited the Labangon center and another Super Health Center in Barangay Apas as the City explored how to make the facilities operational. Documents for the Apas center had been completed and consolidated, but officials have been unable to locate the required records for Labangon.
Siasar said the DOH provided the funding, contractor and construction materials, while the City Government was responsible for securing permits and other documents. Construction proceeded despite the incomplete documentation, complicating the turnover and use of the facility.
The OBO declined to comment on why the building was constructed without a building permit.
Legal review
The City has referred the matter to the City Legal Office to determine how it can formally accept and operate the facility, while the DOH continues to coordinate with City officials.
Siasar said he could not determine whether the missing records resulted from a failure by the previous administration because he was unaware of the arrangements made before construction began. Officials from the previous administration whom he approached were also unable to produce the documents.
Representatives of the DOH, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and the City Government have visited the facility to discuss how it can be opened.
October target
Labangon Barangay Captain Derrick Yap said the barangay is working with the City Government to prepare the facility for operation and has submitted a resolution seeking electricity and, if possible, a water connection while officials address the permit requirements.
Yap said Archival expressed hope during a recent visit that the center could open by October.
The facility is expected to serve Labangon and neighboring barangays, handle minor health concerns and reduce the number of patients going to major hospitals. Doctors have reportedly been assigned to the center, but operations remain on hold pending compliance with the requirements.
The barangay continues to clean and secure the premises and maintain its surroundings while waiting for the center to open.
CCMC stays with City
Siasar said Archival still intends to complete and operate CCMC as a City-run hospital despite an earlier proposal to transfer its management to the National Government.
Former Cebu City south district representative Rodrigo “Bebot” Abellanosa had planned to pursue legislation transferring the CCMC building or its management to the National Government to reduce the City’s financial burden, but the proposal did not proceed after he lost his reelection bid in 2022.
For now, Siasar said, the administration will continue working to complete CCMC while coordinating with the DOH and other offices to resolve the documentary issues delaying the opening of the Labangon center. / CAV