The administration of Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has placed the stalled Super Health Center (SHC) in Barangay Labangon under legal review after discovering that the facility, inaugurated in May 2025, was constructed without a building permit or supporting documentation.
The City Legal Office (CLO) is still scrutinizing how the Department of Health (DOH) can turn over the facility to the city government despite the absence of the required papers and whether remedies can be pursued to regularize the project.
Kenneth Siasar, Archival’s chief of staff, stressed the legal bottleneck in a press briefing yesterday.
‘Wala pa’y tubag ang Legal ana… Kung unsa’y buhaton nato tungod kay wala man gud tay kapasikaran nga dawaton nato nga wala pa tay mga dokumento ana niya,’ he said.
Without permits, the Office of the Building Official cannot issue a certificate of occupancy, leaving the completed structure unusable.
Siasar explained that while the DOH funded the construction and provided the contractor, the city was expected to secure permits.
‘Nagpadayon ang construction nga walay klarong papeles. Karon nga naningil na, i turnover na, pero maglisod og turnover ang DOH tungod kay wala may kapakikitang dokumento ang Cebu City Government,’ he added.
Archival himself visited both the Apas and Labangon SHCs upon assuming office.
While Apas was able to collate and submit its documents, Labangon remains in limbo.
‘Ang Apas, nag start sila og collect and collate sa ilang documents, unya nakompleto sila. But ang kining Labangon, until now, di pa man ka issue man gud… wala siyay building permit,’ Siasar said.
The mayor has tasked the CLO to determine how the project can be made functional, stressing that the facility is crucial to decongesting hospitals by serving as a ‘middle tier’ between barangay health centers and the Cebu City Medical Center.
‘Ganahan si mayor ug sa barangay captain ngadto nga make it functional aron nga ma decongest ang atong hospital. Naay modawat ngadto. In between man gud na siya: Barangay Health Center, unya CCMC… mao ni’y in between,’ Siasar noted.
The Labangon SHC was envisioned to provide laboratory services, X ray, electrocardiogram (ECG), ultrasound, dental care, birthing facilities, mental health support, and pharmacy services.
Former mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia had targeted June 2025 for the facility to begin operations, but regulatory lapses stalled its activation. Garcia lost to Archival in the mayoral race in the last elections.
The issue comes amid a nationwide audit of SHCs.
Last month, the DOH confirmed that around 300 SHCs nationwide were unfinished, abandoned, or non operational despite reports of completion.
A nationwide audit of SHCs was ordered in July 2026 by then health secretary Jose ‘Brix’ Pujalte Jr. Following his resignation, current Health Secretary Dr. Edwin Mercado has assumed leadership of the DOH and is expected to carry on the initiative.