ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/11 October) – The government-owned Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) will soon have its own cancer center.

ZCMC Chief of Hospital Dr. Romeo Ong said that House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has allocated P11 million for the construction of the cancer center.

The funding will come from the Priority Development Assistance Fund of Salazar, representative of this city’s first district.

The construction of the cancer center will immediately start as soon as the funds will be released, Ong said.

ZCMC would become the second cancer access points in Mindanao once the construction of the cancer center is completed. The other one is the Davao Medical Center.

Ong said the Department of Health (DOH) has also allocated P39 million in support to the establishment of the cancer center through requests made by Salazar.

He said P16 million of the P39-million allocation will be used to purchase cobalt machine and a cancer radiation treatment facility.