The Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) (Filipino: Ospital ng Pilipinas sa may sakit sa Baga) is a government tertiary hospital specializing in the cure and prevention of lung and other chest diseases, located on Central, Quezon City, Philippines. The center receives budgetary support for its operations from the national government.[1] It was constructed on public land donated by the National Housing Authority.[2]
The Lung Center has a hospital bed capacity of 210.[2]
History
The LCP was established on January 16, 1981, by President Ferdinand Marcos under Presidential Decree No. 1823 as a non-profit non-stock corporation.[3] The building is identified with what is referred to as the Marcoses' "edifice complex,"[4][5] defined by architect Gerard Lico as "an obsession and compulsion to build edifices as a hallmark of greatness."[6]
A fire on May 16, 1998, destroyed much of the LCP's build and equipment. The fire, which started on 2:20a.m., claimed 11 lives with nine more missing.[9]Calixto Zaldivar, the director of the Lung Center of the Philippines, was indicted on October 19, 1999, for criminal negligence. He was accused of ignoring advice from fire inspectors to install safety equipment at the Lung Center.[10]
The Lung Center of the Philippines was reopened on March 1, 1999, and a new LCP building partly funded by its fire insurance began construction.[11]
The Lung Center runs one of three monitoring stations run under an air quality monitoring project in Metro Manila.[12]
An anarchy of families: state and family in the Philippines. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press. 2009. p.418. ISBN978-0-299-22984-9. OCLC223848773.