Tomas orders inventory of sold CCMC X-ray films

With the city council looking into the alleged illegal selling of used X-ray films at the Cebu City Medical Center, Mayor Tomas Osmeña also made a separate move to shed light on the matter.

Yesterday, Osmeña designated Dr. Nestor Alonso II to conduct the inventory of those used X-ray films that have been sold by the city-run hospital. Alonso is the city's consultant on veterinary medicine and the head of the city's task force on Bird Flu Prevention and Control last year.

Osmeña also gave Alonso the liberty to choose an auditor from the city government to accompany him in doing the inventory of the sold X-ray films. Alonso told Osmeña he would need an auditor to keep the records of the inventory.

Early on, a complaint was forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas alleging that some hospital personnel illegally sold used X-ray films instead of keeping them for five years as part of medical records. The complaint also alleged that the sale was lucrative and that the net proceeds reached P80,000.

The anonymous complainant also told the Ombudsman that some of the films reportedly involve medico-legal cases, posing a problem later for future litigants who may decide to file a case against their assailants only to realize that the X-ray films are no longer available.

But councilor Edgardo Labella, chairman of the council's Committee on Public Accountability and who is a lawyer himself, said last week this may not necessarily be correct because X-ray films are not being presented in court as evidence. What is presented in court, he said, is the document that contains the official interpretation of what is being reflected on the X-ray film.

He also believes that the sale may not be irregular, as the same was in line with the hospital's mechanism to dispose of unusable supplies and materials, which was also sanctioned by City Administrator Francisco Fernandez.

In a letter dated September 25, 2006, CCMC chief Myrna Go sought Fernandez' approval to dispose of the hospital's unusable supplies and materials, "some of which may be done by selling to buyers of recyclable materials."

"In this connection, may I respectfully request that we will be allowed to use whatever funds we can generate from sold recyclable materials to pay for immediate needs (petty cash expense) of this hospital which may not be reimbursed by city hall and/or expenses in connection with our founding anniversary activities...I will assure you that the funds will be put to proper use," the letter reads.

A copy of the letter furnished to Labella has Fernandez' approving signature on it.

Labella said he spoke personally to CCMC chief Myrna Go who told him that they even have a record of the sale and that the money generated from it indeed forms part of their petty cash. - Joeberth M. Ocao