A widow has sued the Cebu Doctors University Hospital for allegedly holding hostage the death certificate of her husband because of the family’s failure to settle fully its hospital bills.
Evangeline Cañete filed at the Regional Trial Court’s civil division the case against the hospital and its administrator, Oscar Tuazon.
She demanded that the death certificate of her husband, Iluminado, be forwarded to the Office of the Civil Registrar of Cebu City and the National Statistics Office.
Cañete has also asked for close to P200,000 in moral and exemplary damages for the struggles that she allegedly went through when the hospital turned down her request for the death certificate of her husband who died over 15 years ago.
Cañete said her husband Iluminado died at the Cebu Doctors’University Hospital on August 1 1992 but the hospital had since then refused to issue the death certificate until now, despite her repeated demands.
When Iluminado died, the family signed a promissory note with the management to allow them to take the body out of the hospital.The bills were however left unpaid.
Tuazon told the Cañete family that the death certificate can only be released soon after they settled fully their obligation to the hospital.
“We will gladly issue the original copy of Mr. Canete’s death certificate upon full settlement of his hospital account,” the complainant quoted Tuazon’s reply to the family’s demand letter.
Cañete however countered that the hospital’s act was unlawful, citing Republic Act 3753 that mandates the hospital administrator or the physician, who last attended the patient,to prepare within 48 hours, the death certificate, send it to the health officer, and register it at the Office of the Civil Registrar.
It has not been 48 hours but 15 years since her husband died, complained Cañete adding that, “This is impermissible and the defendant must be condemned.”
Tuazon’s answer to the complaint reads: “Per hospital policy the original copy of the death certificate was not issued to the bereaved family because of non-payment of the entire hospital bill.” —Fred P. Languido and Rene U. Borromeo/RAE