NIR opens first government cancer care center in Bacolod

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By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – The Negros Island Region (NIR) has officially opened its first government-run Cancer Care Center inside the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) on Wednesday.

The PHP35 million two-story facility will start offering free chemotherapy sessions and accommodate up to 40 patients daily beginning Aug. 26, expanding access to treatment in the region.

The inauguration was led by CLMMRH medical center chief Dr. Joan Cerrada, Department of Health (DOH)-NIR director Dr. Razel Nikka Hao, Mayor Greg Gasataya, Negros Occidental 6th District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez, and Cancer Care Center head Dr. Adonis Guancia.

Cerrada recalled the long journey to this milestone, tracing it back to 1994 when Guancia, in partnership with the Faces Foundation and the Andres Soriano Foundation, established the island’s first oncology unit.

Progress accelerated in 2022 when then CLMMRH chief Dr. Julius Drilon and Guancia secured Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) funding with support from Gasataya, then serving as congressman of Bacolod.

The facility was initially designed as a one-story structure, but with additional DOH funding requested by Gasataya, it was expanded into its current two-story form.

Cerrada said the center is dedicated to those who lost their lives to cancer and to patients who continue to fight.

“While we now have more weapons to fight cancer, we remain true to our mission—to provide care and hope to our patients and help them fight stronger,” she said.

She also underscored the urgency of improving cancer care, citing 2022 statistics showing 190,000 Filipinos diagnosed with cancer that year and 113,000 deaths.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the Philippines, Cerrada noted.

She said the hospital accommodates about 1,500 adult and 180 pediatric cancer patients annually, backed by programs such as the Cancer Assistance Fund (CAF), PhilHealth’s Z-Benefit packages, and the Cancer and Supportive-Palliative Medicines Access Program (CSPMAP).

Since March, 500 patients benefited from CSPMAP, 1,000 patients received up to PHP150,000 each through CAF, and 100 patients were enrolled under the PhilHealth Z-Benefit package for breast cancer, ensuring no-balance billing for those in basic accommodation.

Hao described the center as a model for decentralizing cancer care.

“Our goal has always been to bring services closer to the people—not just in Manila,” Hao said.

The center offers IV chemotherapy, bone marrow biopsies, lumbar punctures and intrathecal chemotherapy, child life services, and seamless radiotherapy referrals.

It also houses consultation and counseling rooms, a Child Life Program Clinic, a Survivorship Clinic, a Cancer Research Office, and chemotherapy infusion services.

“This is not just a treatment site,” Hao said. “It must anchor a regional cancer care network that leaves no patient behind—from Bacolod to Negros Oriental to Siquijor.”

Hao called the opening a milestone not only for the hospital and NIR but also for the country’s fight against cancer.

“This is not just a facility—it is proof that the reforms the DOH has fought for at the policy table are now reaching the ground, where they matter most,” she said.

She emphasized that the true measure of success will be in the lives saved, families kept whole, and dignity restored to patients at their most vulnerable.

“Cancer will remain one of our toughest public health challenges in the decades to come,” Hao said. “This is the work ahead. It will not be easy, but it is necessary.”

She added that priorities include expanding early detection, linking primary and specialty care to ensure timely referrals, strengthening survivorship programs, and ensuring dignity in care so that no patient is left behind.

“Let us remember that this center is not the finish line—it is the starting point of a higher standard,” Hao said. “CLMMRH carries the mandate to lead, to train, to mentor, and to set the pace for cancer care in Negros. And we, at DOH-NIR, stand behind that mandate—aligning resources, building systems, and holding ourselves accountable to the patients who will walk through these doors.”

Cerrada added that their partnership with Riverside Medical Center provides patients with access to radiotherapy, combining public and private resources for a stronger approach to care.

“Radiotherapy was long nonexistent in Negros,” she said. “Despite the difficulties, the oncology unit always tried to offer hope and provide patients with medicines that gave them a fighting chance at life despite the odds.”

Gasataya called the facility “a dream come true” and a critical step in CLMMRH’s expansion.

The hospital’s bed capacity is set to grow from 400 to 1,000 under an expansion law, with possible additions of a third and fourth floor for the Cancer Care Center, depending on national funding.

Gasataya reflected on the journey to completion.

“This isn’t just another infrastructure project—it’s a lifeline,” he said. “It directly serves the people.”