CEBU CITY – Less than a month after it was badly damaged by a massive magnitude-6.9 earthquake, the Bogo City Provincial Hospital is now capable again of handling emergencies and surgeries.

ZLREJ Construction has completed and turned over the repaired Emergency Room (ER) and Operating Room (OR) of the hospital that sustained significant damage during the Sept. 30 quake.

The damage led to patients being moved to other spots for care, a situation that continues for now in some cases.

ZLREJ Construction, which previously handled the retrofitting works for the Marcelo Fernan Bridge here using Japanese technology, repaired the hospital repair right after the quake.

They focused on the ER and OR first, working non-stop to get the emergency and operating rooms operational again to reduce strain on local healthcare.

“We sped up work on the hospital knowing that every day without a functional ER and OR puts lives at risk. Our team saw how this would affect families needing quick care, surgeons requiring solid spaces, and the overall healthcare setup in northern Cebu. Completing the repairs in just about two weeks somehow helps bring some stability back to the area," said L-Rej Awit, Chief Technical Officer of ZLREJ Construction.

Awit said repairs covered structural fixes for better earthquake safety, updates to wiring and plumbing, plugging a water leak, and adding basic improvements to make the spaces safer for the patients and health workers.

Before the official turnover, the hospital was inspected to ensure that it met local building rules.

Aside from repairing the hospital, ZLREJ Construction, with its manpower and equipment in the area, also helped in distribution of aid, setting up the tent city in Bogo.

The construction firm plans to continue helping with repairs of other public buildings in northern Cebu over the next few weeks.

Last Friday, Oct. 17, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. stopped by the hospital during his second visit to northern Cebu to check on recovery progress.