The Department of Public Works and Highways said it has already started civil works for the construction of the Samar Island Medical Center, the first tertiary hospital on Samar Island, in Calbayog City.

In a statement on Friday, the DPWH said it has already started the construction of Phase 1 of the project, which involves the construction of two four-story buildings with a roof deck, namely the Mother and Child Building and the Out-Patient Department Building.

DPWH 8 Regional Director Edgar B. Tabacon said SIMC Phase 1, which was funded under the 2023 National Expenditure Program, has a project cost of P477.682 million, which involves the construction or excavation of the foundation works and the structural framing of the two buildings.

Another P100 million had been allocated for the site development of the project, which is intended for the construction of a road network in the entire project vicinity, including a concrete-lined canal and slope protection.

“To date, Region 8 has only one tertiary hospital, which is the Eastern Visayas Medical Center located in Tacloban City. It is time for us, national government agencies, to work together for the benefit of the entire Samar island,” Tabacon said.

He added that the main building, which will house an emergency department, a laboratory department, and other significant facilities, will be implemented by the Department of Health Eastern Visayas Center for Health Development, the lead agency for this project.

The DPWH-8 said that since the first week of December 2023, the contractor has been doing site clearing operations, staking for project site boundaries, and mobilization of tools and equipment.

DPWH-8 has already received a P400-million allocation under NEP 2024 for the completion works for the Mother and Child Building and the continuation of the OPD Building.

Tabacon said that once completed, the hospital is expected to benefit over two million Samarnons with easier access to healthcare facilities, emergency and critical care services, and all urgent medical needs.

“Patients with serious illnesses from Samar will no longer need to travel for hours to Tacloban to receive advanced medical diagnostics and other tertiary health services such as treatments via state-of-the-art equipment and facilities,” Tabacon said.

The SIMC would be a 300-bed tertiary hospital that will soon cater to patients from the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar.

The hospital, which will rise on a 3.3-hectare lot owned by the Calbayog City government, will be run and supervised by the Department of Health.