Columban College Hotel in Olongapo City.
By Kendrick Ivan B. Panganiban
Aug 24 2020
MANILA, Philippines – A Catholic school-run hotel in Olongapo City opened its doors to accommodate and care for coronavirus-19 patients.
The Columban College, a diocesan school under the Iba diocese, partnered with the city and provincial governments for the use of its hotel to house infected patients.
Fr. Raymann Catindig, the school’s president, said the Columban College Hotel will particularly be used as Covid-19 isolation facility for asymptomatic people.
Originally used for simulations for students in Hotel and Restaurant Management, the five-storey building has 14 rooms that can accommodate around 60 patients.
Fr. Catindig said the diocese decided to open the building because the health crisis calls for an “emergence of caring, compassion and love”.
“As the Church of Christ that cares for its people, we are called to open our hearts in these troubled times and be more caring for others, especially those affected by the pandemic,” the priest said.
The diocese has acknowledged the move as “a means for a mutual participation between the Church and the government in a time of crisis”.
“The college will not only welcome Catholics but will be open to patients belonging to all religions as part of the Church’s social responsibility and in the spirit of fraternity that this Year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous Peoples we celebrate acknowledges us to uphold,” Fr. Catindig said. – CBCP News
