Ready when the ground shook
Training, a July drill and pre-stocked medicines kept Bogo’s provincial hospital working after the Sept. 30 quake
Within 15 minutes of the earthquake, all 166 patients at Bogo City Provincial Hospital were out of the building.
The magnitude 6.9 quake struck on the night of Sept. 30, 2025, with the hospital among the facilities closest to the epicenter. It cracked walls and dropped ceiling material and plaster across the older Building 1, and parts of the emergency room and delivery room were damaged. But the hospital never stopped treating patients. Officials say the reason was work done months earlier.
“We were so blessed that we were recently trained in mass casualty management,” said chief of hospital Zoraida Yurango.
A drill still fresh in memory
Yurango was at home when the shaking began. She said it felt unlike earlier quakes, with strong vertical movement that made it hard to stand. After securing her family, she went to the hospital.
By the time she arrived, staff had already evacuated everyone and set up an Incident Command Center. Nurse John Errold Duazo, who was near the facility, had taken charge as incident commander.
Staff followed the Incident Command System they had learned in Department of Health mass casualty training. They had also taken part in a City of Bogo simulation exercise on July 11, less than three months earlier.
“Fresh pa kaayo sa among minds na nag-SIMEX mi” (The simulation was still very fresh in our minds), Yurango said.
Medicines already on the shelves
The hospital had also prepared its pharmacy. Yurango said it raised its supply needs before July and later received the budget and authority for emergency purchases, letting it stock up without waiting for the regular procurement process. Antibiotics, pain relievers and other medicines were on hand when the quake hit.
“Kay kung wala to, di na mi kaya” (If we hadn’t had those, we couldn’t have coped), she said.
Even so, reaching the supplies was risky. The pharmacy was damaged, and Yurango refused to let staff enter the rear of the building because of continuing aftershocks.
From hospital to triage point
Elisse Nicole Catalan, the provincial consultant for health, reached Bogo early the next morning. Her priority was to get patients out of the damaged hospital, so CPH Bogo became an intermediate triage center rather than an inpatient facility.
Less severe cases went to Danao Provincial Hospital, where Catalan’s husband, an orthopedic doctor, helped retriage patients. Serious cases were referred to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and University of Cebu Medical Center in Cebu City. In all, 206 patients needing specialized surgery or intensive care were moved from the worst-hit areas to hospitals including those two, CPH-Danao and CPH-Balamban. Most had long-bone fractures, traumatic brain injuries, severe lacerations or acute cardiovascular events.
Ambulances became the bottleneck. “Nag-duha, tulo, upat ka patients masulod in one ambulance para lang ma-transport out,” Catalan said. Other municipalities sent ambulances to help. Within 12 hours, CPH Bogo had been cleared.
(There were times when two, three, even four patients had to share one ambulance just to be transported out.)
Care in tents, an ambulance and a field kitchen
Treatment continued outside the damaged wards. A disaster response ambulance served as a temporary emergency room. The Office of the Building Official assessed the hospital and found the hallways safe for people to stay in, so patients who could not leave their rooms were moved onto mattresses there.
At about 4 a.m., the dietitian and kitchen staff reported for duty and asked what to cook. “Mag-field kitchen na lang ta” (Let’s just set up a field kitchen), Yurango told them. They made porridge, which was quick and practical, with water and fuel secured through the City Government.
Aftershocks and heavy rain kept patients and staff outdoors for long stretches, and some patients refused to go back inside. “Our challenge was whether i-close ba namo ang CPH Bogo or not,” Catalan said.
(Our challenge was deciding whether to close CPH Bogo.)
Officials chose to keep it open on a skeletal, triage-only basis. Contractors began repairs by day 2, and staff set up emergency bays, pediatric care and makeshift operating rooms in tents and campus auditoriums.
A provincial network
Bogo’s response was part of a wider effort. The Provincial Health Office sent diagnostic vans and a mobile kitchen, and health districts in southern and western Cebu sent doctors, nurses, water tanks, medicines and sanitation supplies. By Oct. 8, all 16 Cebu provincial hospitals were confirmed operational, with power, water and supplies stabilized, according to Catalan’s office.
A magnitude 5.8 aftershock on Oct. 13 tested them again. Hospitals in Bogo, Sogod and Daanbantayan reassessed structural safety, adjusted bed capacity and used standby tents to keep critical services going.
Repairs and recovery
The quake damaged provincial health facilities in Bogo, Bantayan, Sogod and Danao. At CPH Bogo, severe cracks appeared in the new ward building and debris fell inside the operating room. The Department of Public Works and Highways led the first major repairs, and the province handled the rest. The Red Cross set up inpatient tents outside while patients and staff regained confidence in the repaired buildings.
Frontliners received psychological first aid and debriefing with help from the Philippine Mental Health Association, DOH and Americares. PhilHealth’s Zero Balance Billing policy covered survivors’ surgeries, orthopedic implants and mental health consultations.
Closing the gaps
The province is now running hospital-specific disaster readiness assessments, refining referral pathways with private hospitals, considering pre-enlisting volunteer surgeons and seeking standing PhilHealth commitments for future disasters.
The quake killed at least 79 people and injured more than 1,200. It came days after Super Typhoon Nando and Typhoon Opong, and Gov. Pamela Baricuatro declared a province-wide State of Calamity under Executive Order 57 that night.
Yurango’s lesson is that preparation cannot start after disaster strikes. “Di jud ka-huwat” (You can’t wait), she said. Catalan credited the workers who kept going while living through the same disaster. “They’re really heroes,” she said.
The hospital could not stop the quake or prevent damage to its buildings. But training gave staff a system to follow, stocked shelves gave them medicines, and a referral network gave them somewhere to send patients.