MANILA, Philippines — The Marikina City government confirmed that the Department of Health (DOH) released the funds for the Concepcion Dos Super Health Center more than two years after the project was supposed to begin. On Thursday, Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro said the delay in fund download from the DOH pushed back the project’s implementation to late 2023. He said the project was scheduled to start in 2021 and be completed by 2022, but the first release of funds came only on Jan. 8, 2024, amounting to ₱19.35 million. A second fund download followed on July 3, 2024, amounting to ₱2.15 million, bringing the total to ₱21.5 million. Teodoro, who served as Marikina mayor during the project’s planning and early implementation, said the delay in the fund release was one of the key reasons construction began much later than intended. He said the first phase was completed on April 19, 2024, shortly after the initial fund download. A source from the Marikina local government also told The Manila Times that the DOH requested revisions to the original project plan, which further contributed to the delay. Teodoro said the city has since committed to continue the remaining phases of the Super Health Center using local funds.