Loss of Philhealth checks: 30-day suspension of credit officer won't be extended

CEBU, Philippines – The committee assigned to investigate the disappearance of 28 checks from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation has decided not to extend the 30-day preven-tive suspension meted on Lourdes Archua, credit officer of the Cebu City Medical Center.

This means Archua may return to work on August 22, right after the preventive suspension expires on August 21.

Archua was preventively suspended pending probe into the controversy. The 28 checks amounting to P240,000 were lost to fraud last May.

Atty. Carlo Vincent Gimena, head of the Special Administrative Investigation Committee (SAIC), said they find no ground to extend the preventive suspension, as the prosecution has finished gathering its evidence, thus, Archua is no longer in the position to influence the process.

"Since we had already the preliminary conference and the prosecution has agreed to set the case to three hearings on September 1, 8 and 15, we think that the prosecu-tion is ready to present the evidence," said Atty. Dominic Diño, a member of the committee.

Archua's lawyer, Gloria Dalawampu, said earlier it was not her client but a collector from the City Treasurer's Office detailed at CCMC who turned over the checks to a certain Concha Ruth Adlawan.

Dalawampu said documents will prove that her client is innocent of the charge. She said Archua only assumed responsibility because she was the head of the billing and collection unit where Lopez holds office.

Because of the controversy, the city government will implement changes in the processing of all Philhealth checks. The city treasurer's office will now be the one to handle all transactions so it can directly monitor all checks received from Philhealth. 

The committee is tightlipped on whether Archua will receive pay for the month-long preventive suspension once she gets exonerated from charges. Gimena clarified earlier that the suspension is not a punishment.

According to the Civil Service Commission rules on payment of back wages, an employee subjected to preventive suspension may receive his/her salary for the days that she was prevented from reporting to duty once she is acquitted from the case.

The committee already denied the two motions filed by Dalawampu asking for media coverage during the proceedings and requesting for the inhibition of City Attor-ney Joseph Bernaldez and his assistant lawyers as counsels for CCMC chief of hospital Myrna Go.

Diño said Bernaldez and Atty. Marie Velle Abella were not representing Go, but were there as prosecutors representing the city government.

He explained that when Go filed a complaint before the city legal office, there was initial investigation conducted from which Bernaldez, with the help of Abella, found probable cause.

The City Attorney then filed a case before the Office of the Mayor, which created SAIC to determine possible administrative liability on the employees involved in the issue.

"Although it was alleged that all members of SAIC are from the City Attorney, SAIC should be accorded with some respect. Every time the SAIC will convene as committee, it has detached itself from individual offices. It's unfair if there will be an insinuation that we might be influenced by the City Attorney," Diño said. (FREEMAN)