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CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is still trying to convince local investors, who could bring the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the South Road Properties (SRP).
Osmeña said he needed the help of local investors to bring the world class cancer facility in Cebu because the management of the MD Anderson Cancer Center ais re not allowed to invest outside the the state of Texas in the United States.
Osmeña who was earlier treated at the MD Anderson Cancer Center for his urinary bladder cancer, said he spoke with the hospital management about investing in the SRP and learned of the prohibition to invest outside Texas.
?I want to bring MD Anderson (Cancer Center) to Cebu but there are all kinds of problems. We have to maneuver all obstacles so that we can go from here to there...We are now working on external sources,? Osmeña said.
Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), Osmeña said, was willing to commit for the building of the hospital structure in their property in the SRP either in the joint venture property or in the sold lot.
The mayor however said he still had to convince other investors to commit for the hospital equipment, the working capital, payroll of hospital employees, promotions, among other financial concerns.
Osmeña said that the Texan government which owns the University of Texas, that owns the MD Anderson Cancer Center, assured that they would be willing to manage the hospital if brought to the city.
?The problem is not MD Anderson because they are willing to come here. I have a meeting with investors in Manila. They (investors) are interested but it is not their focus (at the moment),? he said.
Having a cancer center in Cebu will give the city benefits as it will be the first world class cancer facility in Asia and in the Middle East.
Rich people with cancer would hope that they would be treated in the best hospital and the MD Anderson Cancer Center is considered as the best in the world.
People from Asia or in the Middle East don't have to go to Texas for cancer treatment, instead, they can come to Cebu, he said.
?This is an attraction of the Joint Venture (of the Filinvest) because visitors of the patients would have to stay in a hotel, go to the shopping malls. If there is a movie collateral damage, this is a collateral benefit. You can imagine the contribution of our patients to the economy,? Osmeña said.
Osmeña said the MD Anderson Cancer Center could earn $6.5 million in a day for CT scans alone and they could accommodate 89,000 patients in a year from all parts of the world.
