Capitol takeover of VSMMC: Workers should express objections to health dept.

Municipal Mayors League president Ronald Allan Cesante of Dalaguete town said objections of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center workers to the proposed takeover of the Capitol in its primary and secondary services should be properly channeled to the Department of Health.

Cesante yesterday said it is only proper that employees channel their complaints against the takeover to the health department since VSMMC is under DOH and the proposal for the provincial government to take over in the primary and secondary services of the said medical institution came from the department.

He also considered seeking the help of their league's counterpart in the national government to implore Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to look into this particular concern. He said Governor Gwendolyn Garcia should not be getting the ire for a proposal which she has only acted upon "in good faith" in trying to ensure that health services for the province's constituents will be aptly provided for.

Nevertheless, Cesante pointed out both the Capitol and DOH only have good intentions in this proposal, the latter only wanting to improve the hospital services "because it's been perceived as not operating well."

He said maybe the problem all boils down to lack of funding and not so much on DOH's want of independence from managing the VSMMC.

And since patients taken to the VSMMC not only come from the Province of Cebu but even as far as Mindanao, he said the national government should also look into this particular concern, especially if the Capitol takeover pushes through.

The Municipal Mayors League in its meeting next week is expected to come up with its position with regards to the planned Capitol takeover of VSMMC. - Cristina C. Birondo/MEEV