Ifugao gov wants hospital done; pledges P50-M fund

By Marlo Lubguban

LAGAWE, Ifugao -- Construction of the long-delayed Ifugao General Hospital (IGH) in this capital town may soon be finished after Gov. Jerry Dalipog pledged it would be finished.  

The governor recently met with top officials of the Dept. of Health-Cordillera, Cordillera Regional Project Monitoring Committee chaired by National Economic Development Authority Cordillera and structural engineers Joselito Buhangin and Renato Tandoc of Saint Louis University to discuss and hasten the hospital’s construction.

The Dept. of Health Cordillera has taken over implementation of the project following delay of contractors to finish it.

With dwindling budget of the regional line agency in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, delays in construction and urgent need of Ifugao to have its own hospital, committed P50 million fund to finish construction of the needed health facility.

As of this August, the building was in its third phase of construction which included putting up of windows, doors, and lighting.

Structural integrity issues caused delay of the project.

Dalipog said he was giving priority to address these issues.

Structural engineers Buhangin and Tandoc studied the existing main building and recommended reinforcement of its internal frame and modification of its outside features.

Because the project was built on uneven ground and its frame has been proven to be structurally unsound, Buhangin and Tandoc urged further study like including stabilizing structure of the main building closing the original U-shaped building into a more stable rectangular structure.

The expertise of the SLU engineers was sought in 2019 to study the IGH main building, particularly, the structural retrofitting done by the previous contractor and to address buckling of basement and second-floor support beams.The RPMC agreed to monitor the project as it completes its third phase by the end of the year while the DOH-CAR and the provincial government of Ifugao committed to work together in studying the needed resources and data for construction of additional structures. Dalipog volunteered to undertake testing of the soil load-bearing capacity with DOH and consultancy services of Buhangin and Tandoc in coming up with a design to add a support structure that may close the U-shaped building.

The meeting is part of project monitoring activities in the Cordillera region by the RPMC.

The RPMC is composed of representatives from government agencies, civil society organizations, and local government units.

The body monitors and reviews procurement in government-implemented projects.

It conducts problem-solving sessions for delayed projects and visits the well-implemented ones for learning and future replication. -- NEDA-SPCAR