Life Purpose

36 years of service since December 18, 1988

The late Julio Cardinal Rosales, while he was still the Archbishop of Cebu, saw the great need of constructing an emergency hospital in Dalaguete, Cebu. The need was felt because a great number of people coming from southern Cebu towns (Santander to Dalaguete) who need immediate hospital treatment, on many occasion, die on the way to the hospitals in far-away Cebu City.

Reason why the town of Dalaguete, the choice of the late Cardinal Rosales

His Eminence, Julio Cardinal Rosales, then Archbishop of Cebu, learned from his pastoral visit to the towns in the south-eastern coast of Cebu, particularly from the town of Dalaguete, (85 kms)down to the town of Samboan (135 kms) that due to the distance by land travel, from Cebu City, untimely deaths were registered without proper medical intervention.

Dalaguete as an ideal location for a general hospital:

• Frequent occurrences of vehicular accidents in Dalaguete due to the narrow winding Mantalongon-Dalaguete road.
• Per statistical records, Dalaguete has the highest percentage of "medical-legal cases" among the towns of Cebu.
• Dalaguete is the most thickly populated among the towns from Dalaguete to Samboan.
• Presence of 5 big mining coal companies, considered as labor hazardous industry, located in the mountain barrios of Dalaguete, with a combined labor force of two thousand miners,excluding their families.
• Presence of another equally labor-hazardous mining industry operated by Japanese technicians with a labor force of about one thousand (1,000) miners, excluding dependents, located four (4) kilometers south of Dalaguete.

Attempt of the Cardinal to construct a hospital:

In the early part of 1967, the late Cardinal "requested" the late Rev. Fr. Roman Jamili, the Parish Priest of St. William Parish, Dalaguete, Cebu to initiate the construction of a general hospital, however the project was not realized.

Realization of a desire for a hospital:

The archdiocese of Cebu, headed by His Excellency the Most Rev. Ricardo Cardinal J. Vidal D.D., organized a foundation for the purpose of establishing, operating and maintaining a general hospital to be constructed in Poblacion, Dalaguete, Cebu, Philippines, in "memory" of his Eminence, the late Julio Cardinal Rosales.

Hospital encatchment

As desired by the late Cardinal, the hospital encatchment will be the municipalities of Dalaguete down to Samboan.

The Hospital be named in memory of His Eminence, the late Cardinal Rosales. The hospital to be established, operated and maintained, will be a tertiary hospital", however, initially, it will be a "25 bed secondary level hospital" which will be manned by medical specialists and equipped with the most modern medical facilities to be under the administration of a religious congregation of Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres.

The laying of the cornerstone was done on February 8 1984, by His Excellency, Archbishop Manuel S. Salvador-D.D, on the occasion of the town fiesta of Dalaguete.

On December 18, 1988 the formal blessing and opening of the hospital was done by Archbishop Manuel S. Salvador. There were two (2) other bishops present: bishop Gregorio and Bishop Tumulak and several priests present

December 19, 1988 The hospital staff started to work:

• 1st patient admitted: Mrs Filomena Z. Amaquin at 10AM-admitted at Female Medical Ward, under the service of Dr. Eduardo Atillo
• 2nd patient admitted: Fr. Benjamin Nombrado, parish priest of Caceres, Oslob at 10:00 PM still under Dr. Eduardo Atillo’s Service
• 1st Baby born: Baby girl Escabas born on February 17, 1989 under the care of Dr. Josefina Ocampo.

Administrators/Superiors of JCRMH: