Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso led the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning for the renovation of the 35-year-old emergency section at Ospital ng Sampaloc, promising to modernize the facility despite budget constraints.

Domagoso said his decision to overhaul the hospital’s ground floor was prompted by an inspection during the height of typhoon “Opong,” where he witnessed floodwaters reaching knee-deep in the emergency area.

“When we came here during the flood, I pitied the state of the hospital. Aside from being flooded, the emergency area was too cramped, forcing them to use the driveway to accommodate patients,” Domagoso said.

“The next few days, I returned with engineers to fix the design of the ground floor emergency area,” he added.

The mayor cited that the hospital serves hundreds of thousands of Sampaloc’s poor residents who benefit from free medical services funded by city taxes. The new design aims for a wider floor arrangement to better handle large numbers of emergency patients.

As part of the improvements, Domagoso immediately ordered the restoration of the hospital’s two elevators to serve the seven-floor, almost 300-square-meter facility.

“We will squeeze the towel to get money so we can fix this, as well as the salaries and benefits of all the personnel,” Domagoso said, urging the staff to, in turn, serve all Sampaloc residents well.

Fourth District Representative Giselle Maceda pledged her full support for the mayor’s efforts in the Sampaloc District.

“That is what is great when we work together, and you can expect full support from my office for our beloved Mayor Isko Moreno,” Maceda said.