SAN JUAN CITY Mayor Francis Zamora defended his administration’s handling of the San Juan Medical Center, saying the city’s only public hospital remained at Level 1 status under the past leadership despite 18 years in office.
Zamora made the statement in an interview after Sen. JV Ejercito raised concerns over the condition of the San Juan Medical Center and questioned whether the hospital had been neglected.
Ejercito previously said he was saddened by what he described as the current state of the San Juan Medical Center, saying he had received complaints from residents.
Zamora said the hospital’s budget stood at P61 million in 2001, when Ejercito became mayor, and rose to P110 million in 2010, when Ejercito finished his term.
He said the budget already reached P315 million when he assumed office in 2019, and had since increased every year to P644 million in 2026.
“From here alone, in how we appropriate the budget for the hospital, we can see that we give importance to San Juan Medical Center because it is our only public hospital,” Zamora said.
He turned the criticism back on past administrations, saying the Ejercito-led leadership had 18 years to improve the hospital but left it at Level 1 status.
“They sat for 18 years, and yet, they did not move away from Level 1 status. Now, we have been here for only seven years. In the first few years of our seven years, we raised that to Level 2 status, and we are pushing to complete the upgrade to Level 3 status,” Zamora said.
Level 1 status limited the types of procedures and services that the hospital could provide, while Level 3 would allow the hospital to expand its medical capability once it meets requirements for equipment, facilities and manpower.
He said his target was to complete the hospital upgrade by June 30, 2028.
“I have two years and two months to ensure that we will really be able to upgrade the San Juan Medical Center. When I say upgrade, the medical equipment, the facilities, the manpower complement, and even the culture of the employees should be complete,” Zamora said.
Zamora said his administration inherited medical equipment that had been fully paid for but remained in boxes and crates because the areas where they were supposed to be installed had not been completed.
He said he had sought help from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to address the hospital’s remaining needs in equipment and facilities.
“Of course, I acknowledge there are still many things that need to be fixed. And that is where we are focused now,” Zamora said.
