March 29, 2024

LAGAWE, Ifugao – The Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC) and the provincial government are pushing for the completion of the only hospital in this capital town within the year.
The RPMC Project Inspectorate Team led by National Economic and Development Authority-Cordillera Director Milagros Rimando inspected the construction of the Ifugao General Hospital (IGH) main building and the support buildings here on March 2.
Officials of Ifugao led by Gov. Jerry Dalipog and Vice Gov. Glenn Prudenciano and representatives from the Department of Health-Cordillera and Department of Public Works and Highways-Ifugao First District Engineering Office also joined the team.
The RPMC initiated the inspection to look at the structural retrofitting being done at the main building of the IGH to ensure that the structure will be fit for occupancy following the recommendation of a third party assessment by a structural engineer who recommended additional strengthening measures to ensure stability of the buildings.
Dalipog thanked the RPMC for including the IGH in the monitoring of projects and vowed to work closely with the DOH, DPWH, and other agencies to finally complete the hospital which has been in the making for 10 years now.
The   DOH has already implemented  more than P60 million for the completion of the upper and lower ground floors while the provincial government is targeting another P50M for the completion of the second floor in the next quarter.
More than P20M is also being added by the provincial government for the recommended works to ensure the structural integrity of the buildings.  
The RPMC has been conducting project inspection and validation of the hospital building since it started in 2009 following issues on the implementation of phase 1 of the project by the provincial government and phases 2 and 3 implemented by the DOH through the DPWH.
In December last year, the DOH conducted a third party assessment by Structural Engineer Joselito Buhangin on the recommendation of the RPMC in an earlier inspection.
The assessment indicated the need to implement additional retrofitting and strengthening measures to ensure that the structure will be more resilient against lateral loads especially from seismic activities.
“The proposed additional strengthening measures using the intervention of shear walls have been designed so as not to interfere with the carbon fiber retrofitting installed on columns and beams and has been designed around it. It is important that the carbon fiber is not punctured during the strengthening process. In the absence of a soil test report, the design of the shear wall footings was based on an assumed soil pressure which can be verified from actual construction and modified accordingly,” the report stated.
Rimando thanked the provincial governor for joining the inspection and for allocating funds and other support and commitment to ensure that the hospital will be realized and will serve the people of Ifugao.
The construction of the IGH has been proposed in 2008 under the Hospital Facilities Enhancement Program of DOH. The estimated budget for the completion of the new IGH is P328M to be released in tranches. – Redjie Melvic M. Cawis