CCMC checks CTO employee seeks to clear name in crime

CEBU, Philippines – The employee of the City Treasurers Office said to be the one who released the 28 PhilHealth checks worth over P240,000 to a swindler yesterday told the National Bureau of Investigation she is willing to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.

Mary Grace Lopez went to the NBI regional office yesterday morning after her name was mentioned by Lourdes Archua, the Credit and Billing Section head of the Cebu City Medical Center, as the one who released the checks to a woman who claimed to be Concha Ruth Adlawan.

NBI-7 special agent Renan Oliva said Lopez assured that she will submit an affidavit into the matter within this week in order to clear her name in connection with the unauthorized release of PhilHealth checks.

Archua earlier admitted she was the one who released the checks, but later clarified through her counsel Gloria Dalawampu that she only did it because she is the head of the office.

But in City Hall yesterday, city legal officer Joseph Bernaldez said they might better succeed in unmasking the syndicate behind the questionable release of the PhilHealth checks by investigating Bert Colong, a city employee assigned with the Office of the Building Official.

The NBI investigators already recovered nine of the 28 missing PhilHealth checks after these were turned over to them by Colong who accepted them from a person who encashed the checks to him.

While working for OBO, Colong is also engaged into the so-called rediscounting of checks, meaning he offers to buy checks but not at the amount reflected so he can have a commission.

"Dali ra namo nga maimbistigar si Bert kay naa ra man siya sa OBO nga tupad ra sa among opisina," said Bernaldez, a member of the four-man fact finding team created by Mayor Michael Rama to look into the case.

The investigators said they have already started looking for Adlawan.

"Maybe Adlawan just used an alias that's why we can't locate her up to this time," Oliva said.

He added that the NBI already sent to their Manila head office the nine checks that they recovered, including the letter of authorization reportedly coming from PhilHealth ordering Lopez to release the 28 checks so these can be subjected to a handwriting examination.

Oliva said the NBI wants to determine whether the signatures in the checks are attempts at forging the handwriting of CCMC chief Myrna Go.

One of those to be subjected to a handwriting examination is a letter reportedly issued by a certain Mary Ann Garcia, who claimed to be of the Credit and Collections Department of PhilHealth.

"This is to authorize Concha Ruth Adlawan, trainee for PhilHealth to collect all the checks issued to Cebu City Medical Center by PhilHealth, due to system changes. Please endorse all checks available. The latter will be returned after stamped with PhilHealth seal," the letter read.

But PhilHealth regional vice president William Chavez said Adlawan and Garcia are not employees of PhilHealth.

Rama has already suspended Archua for a month and ordered her to face a formal investigation into the case. He also ordered to stop all business of rediscounting of checks at City Hall. - Rene U. Borromeo and Mylen P. Manto/BRP (THE FREEMAN)