The Cebu provincial government is stepping up investments in public healthcare, with major infrastructure improvements and new medical equipment being rolled out at the Daanbantayan District Hospital and Cebu Provincial Hospital-Bogo City.
Gov. Pamela Baricuatro led the groundbreaking of a P22.4-million infrastructure project at Daanbantayan District Hospital on Saturday, August 22, as the facility moves toward its planned classification as a Level 1 hospital.
The project covers the construction of several support and service facilities, including a new outpatient department and pharmacy building, dietary facility, linen and laundry building, ambulance parking and maintenance area, hazardous waste storage facility, and morgue. A covered walkway will also link the main hospital building to the outpatient department.
Renovation and repair works are, likewise, planned for the emergency room, laboratory, radiology and business office complex, along with repainting of hospital buildings and repairs to the perimeter fence.
The development is intended to help the hospital meet the infrastructure requirements for Level 1 status, which would expand the range of services it can provide to patients in northern Cebu.
Provincial health consultant Dr. Nikki Catalan noted that Daanbantayan District Hospital has significantly expanded its capacity in just over a year.
From operating as a 10-bed infirmary in June 2025, the facility now has 22 beds.
‘These improvements will help prepare the facility for its planned upgrade into a Level 1 hospital as we progressively complete the required infrastructure, equipment, manpower and services,’ Catalan said in a Facebook post.
Cebu Rep. Sun Shimura, who joined Baricuatro during the groundbreaking along with provincial and local officials, credited the governor for following through on her healthcare commitments.
Shimura recalled that when he was mayor of Daanbantayan, the district hospital sometimes struggled even with basic medical supplies.
‘Sauna, Gov, nakahinumdom ko mayor pa ko diri, mag-health board meeting mi, it breaks my heart during that time nga bisan gani og Betadine, panagsa mahutdan pa og stocks kay tungod sa kadaghan pod gyud hospitals sa probinsya [Before, Governor, I remember when I was still mayor here and we would attend health board meetings. It broke my heart because there were times when the hospital would even run out of Betadine, especially because there were so many hospitals across the province],’ he said.
Shimura said the hospital’s eventual Level 1 classification would be an important milestone, particularly because it would enable the facility to perform minor surgical procedures. Meanwhile, the provincial government is also strengthening services at Cebu Provincial Hospital-Bogo City, where Baricuatro led the launch of a new mammography machine on the same day.
The equipment is expected to improve the hospital’s ability to detect breast abnormalities at an early stage, including findings that may indicate cancer, tumors or cysts.
The mammogram is part of a broader effort to modernize CPH-Bogo. The hospital has also received additional equipment such as anesthesia machines, a cautery machine, autoclave, C-arm, electrocardiogram machine, suction equipment, nebulizers and a laparoscopy machine.
The Capitol has further earmarked P13.4 million for repairs and improvements at the Bogo hospital, according to Catalan, who made the announcement during a free medical and dental mission.
The provincial government has also added manpower at CPH-Bogo, with its medical personnel scheduled to take their oath as regular employees on August 26.