By James A. Loyola
The Villar Group is working with the Department of Public Works and Highways and EEI Corporation to rush the conversion of portions of The Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) into a field hospital in just 10 days.
The plan is to convert PICC’s Forum Halls 1 to 3 into a much-needed facility for the treatment and health monitoring of COVID-19 patients as well as Patients-Under- Monitoring (PUMs) and Patients- Under-Investigation (PUIs).
The PICC Forum Halls is a multi-purpose venue with usable area of about 4,000 square meters. Once converted, it is estimated to cater to the treatment of about 630 COVID-19 patients.
In support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to combine efforts in fighting COVID-19 as one nation, Villar Group, DPWH and EEI are now working together to accomplish the redesigning and transformation of Forum Halls into COVID-19 facility within ten days period.
The immediate conversion of PICC Forum Halls to an improvised health facility will significantly provide an optimal isolation space for monitoring of people infected by COVID-19 as most health facilities in Metro Manila have or is nearing maximum capacity.
“ In these challenging times, I would like to give you the firm assurance of our companies’commitment to extend help in whichever way we can and converting PICC to a health facility in the fastest time we can is just one of them,” said Villar Group of Companies Chairman Manny B. Villar.