CEBU CITY — A ₱9.9-million Super Health Center in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City remains unused more than a year after it was turned over to the city government, raising fresh questions over why a completed public health facility has yet to open its doors to residents.
The facility was formally turned over by the Department of Health (DOH) on May 5, 2025, with the center envisioned as a way to bring more medical services closer to communities and reduce pressure on major hospitals such as the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
But instead of treating patients, the facility remains largely unused.
The problem: missing construction documents
According to the latest reports, Cebu City officials have been unable to locate crucial construction and occupancy documents for the Labangon facility, including its building permit.
Mayor Nestor Archival’s chief of staff, Kenneth Siasar, said the city has not formally accepted and occupied the facility because the required documents remain incomplete. The city also needs a certificate of occupancy from the Office of the Building Official (OBO) before the center can legally begin operations.
The issue reportedly came to light after Archival inspected the Labangon facility along with another Super Health Center in Barangay Apas as the administration looked for ways to activate the city’s health facilities.
While documentation for the Apas center had reportedly been completed and consolidated, officials could not locate the necessary records for Labangon.
Who was supposed to secure the permits?
City officials said the DOH provided the funding, contractor and construction materials, while the Cebu City Government was responsible for securing permits and other required documentation.
The facility was nevertheless constructed despite the missing paperwork, leaving the current administration with the problem of determining how the city can formally accept and operate the building.
The Cebu City Government has now referred the matter to its City Legal Office for review, while the DOH continues coordinating with city officials on how to resolve the documentary problems.
The Office of the Building Official has declined to comment on why the structure was constructed without the required building permit, according to SunStar Cebu.
This problem is not entirely new
The Labangon health center’s operational problems were already being reported in 2025.
The Freeman reported in August 2025 that the ₱9.9-million facility remained non-operational several months after turnover because of permit-related issues. At that time, city officials were already working with the DOH to obtain the necessary clearance to activate the center.
Cebu Daily News also reported that the facility was intended to provide a broad package of primary healthcare services after its May 2025 turnover.
Now, more than a year later, the facility is still waiting to become operational.
What residents are supposed to get
The Labangon Super Health Center was designed to provide services beyond those normally available at a regular barangay health center.
Reports on the facility’s planned services include medical consultations, dental care, laboratory services, X-ray, ECG, maternity care, pharmacy services, minor procedures and mental-health support. These services are intended to make basic and diagnostic healthcare more accessible without requiring residents to immediately travel to larger hospitals.
The Freeman previously reported that the facility was expected to serve not only Labangon residents but also people from neighboring communities, including Punta Princesa, Tisa and Calamba.
That makes the delay more significant: the facility was not designed merely as another government building, but as a community-level healthcare hub intended to help reduce congestion in Cebu City’s major hospitals.
Another Cebu health center shows what is possible
The situation also stands in contrast to Cebu City’s Super Family Health Center in Barangay Apas.
SunStar previously reported that the Apas facility had itself spent about two years in limbo because of issues including an occupancy permit before finally opening to the public in July 2024. The facility was designed to provide primary-care services, diagnostics and medicines closer to communities.
The experience underscores the larger challenge facing publicly funded health infrastructure: constructing a facility is only one step. Permits, staffing, equipment, legal compliance and operational funding must also be completed before residents can actually benefit from it.
City hopes for October opening
There is, however, a possible path forward.
Labangon Barangay Captain Derrick Yap said the barangay is coordinating with the city government to prepare the facility for eventual operation. The barangay has also submitted a resolution seeking electricity and, if possible, a water connection while the permit issues are being addressed.
Archival has reportedly expressed hope that the facility could finally open by October, although that target depends on resolving the outstanding documentary and regulatory requirements.
Doctors have reportedly already been assigned to the center, but the facility cannot fully operate while the required compliance issues remain unresolved.
The bigger question
The Labangon case is now raising a broader public accountability question:
How can a ₱9.9-million health facility intended to bring essential services closer to residents remain unused for more than a year because the paperwork needed to legally operate it cannot be located?
For residents who continue relying on major hospitals for medical care, the issue is not simply about missing documents.
It is about when a publicly funded facility will finally deliver the healthcare services it was built and paid for.
For now, Cebu City officials are working through the legal and documentary hurdles, while the DOH and barangay officials coordinate toward an eventual opening.
But until the permits and occupancy requirements are settled, the ₱9.9-million Labangon Super Health Center remains a completed healthcare facility that cannot yet serve the community it was built for.
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