Guardo assails 'shortage'of medicine at CCMC

CEBU, Philippines - Barely a week through the campaign, Congressional aspirant Jonathan Guardo is capitalizing on what he says as a failure of the city government to provide medical assistance to the poor in Cebu City.

In his nightly visits to the different barangays, Guardo is telling residents of the south district not to believe that the city has enough funds in its coffers.

“Ayaw g’yod kamo pagtoo sa gisulti sa atong mayor nga ang dakbayan sa Sugbo daghan na karon og kwarta. Kun tinuod pa kini nganong hangtud karon kuwang man gihapon og mga tambal ang CCMC,” Guardo said.

Guardo is running against Mayor Tomas Osmeña for a congressional seat for the south district. Guardo is running under Kugi Uswag Sugbo, the lone opposition party in the city, while Osmeña heads Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan.

Guardo said that while the Cebu City Medical Center continues to accept patients from different barangays in the city, doctors thereat would reportedly simply issue prescriptions and urge the patients to buy the medicines from private drugstores.

The seeming lack of supply of drugs at the city-run hospital was also one of the concerns raised by Cebu City mayoralty aspirant Rodolfo Laconza.

During The Freeman’s Know Your Candidates roundtable discussion yesterday, Laconza said the city should provide its constituents with proper health care just like what he would reportedly do if he gets elected as mayor.

Laconza, a public utility jeepney driver, said he is driven to run for mayor so he would have the platform to address the needs of the marginalized sectors in the city. 

Sought for comment, Osmeña said, “Anyone who needs medicines, just talk to any barangay officials who are friendly to me for CT Scan, wheelchair, dialysis, laboratory, graded eyeglasses, maintenance and others. Lungon? Go to Guardo.”

Osmeña said the city will not give caskets because the city’s intention is to save lives. When a poor resident of the city passes away, the city government gives a P5,000 financial assistance.

Guardo alleged that Osmeña is spending the city’s meager resources for unnecessary expenses like the granting of additional allowances to court judges. Osmeña announced earlier that the city will provide a monthly allowance to judges equivalent to their basic monthly salary.

“Daghan na kaayo ang wala makagusto sa administrasyon sa BOPK dinhi sa dakbayan ug sila nangandoy na og kausaban…ako wala pa gani makalingkod sa katungdanan sa kagamhanan apan daghan na og natabangan… samot na unya,” Guardo said.

Laconza himself does not favor the move, saying “daw sa masabot na man kana nga suborno ug posible nga kun may kaso ang syudad unya dili na makuha ang tinuoray’ng hustisya.” – Rene U. Borromeo/JMO (THE FREEMAN)