MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Sheila "Honey" Lacuna-Pangan, Speaker Martin Romualdez, and the city's 5th District Rep. Irwin Tieng led the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for the new cancer center at Ospital ng Maynila, which will offer free medical assistance to residents battling cancer.

During the ceremony, Lacuna expressed her gratitude to Romualdez and Tieng for their support of the project and emphasized the financial burden faced by countless residents dealing with cancer. She highlighted that the cancer center was the first in the city and will provide essential, cost-free services to cancer patients.

In 2023, cancer ranked as the third leading cause of death in the Philippines, with approximately 141,021 new cases and 86,337 fatalities annually.

The center will be a five-story building with a 38-bed capacity and cutting-edge medical technology, including a Linear Accelerator, a SPECT Gamma Camera with a Treadmill Machine, and a CT Scan.

Tieng commended Lacuna's generosity in allocating 2,000 square meters for the center.

It will be situated within the Ospital ng Maynila compound and will be named in honor of the late Governor Benjamin "Kokoy" Romualdez, the father of Speaker Romualdez.

Ospital ng Maynila is one of six public hospitals operated by the city government, all of which offer free medical services to Manila's residents.

Given the limited funds, Tieng noted that the center would initially feature a CT scan and a linear accelerator to provide patients with non-invasive radiation therapy.

Construction is set to begin on July 8, 2024, with completion expected by July 3, 2025. A budget of ₱125 million has been allocated for Phase 1.

Romualdez assured the city of his support throughout the construction of the center.