CCMC officer wants probe put on hold

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Medical Center credit officer Lourdes Archua filed a motion before the Special Administrative Investigation Committee to suspend the proceedings on the 28 lost checks while a separate case is pending in court.

The first formal hearing scheduled last Wednesday was postponed until after the prosecution headed by lawyer Marie Velle Abella of the City Legal Office is able to submit a written comment on the motion filed by Archua’s lawyer, Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu.

Last Wednesday was supposedly the initial presentation of evidence for the prosecution. CCMC chief of hospital Dr. Myrna Go was there along with Abella and Archua’s representative lawyer Jay Bijanes.

Archua and Dalawampu were not able to appear because they filed a separate case before the Regional Trial Court on the same day.

In the motion, Archua’s camp wants the proceedings at City Hall suspended until the RTC decides on their petition for injunction with prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order against Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and the members of SAIC.

SAIC is headed by lawyers Carlo Vincent Gimena with members Dominic Dino, Ferdinand Cañete, Lecel Llamedo and city administrator Jose Marie Poblete.

SAIC was created by Rama to determine Archua’s administrative liability on the loss of 28 checks pursuant to the formal charge filed against her for gross neglect of duty.

She claimed to have been “unfairly subjected to grossly oppressive, arbitrary and unreasonable conduct by the investigating authority.” Her earlier motion to open the proceeding to the media was denied by the committee.

Gimena said that they gave the prosecution five working days from receipt of the motion to submit its written comment on which they will base their decision.

Once they receive the written position from Abella, SAIC will convene to decide on the matter.

For the meantime, the hearings on September 8 and 15 remain uncertain.

Archua was placed under a 30-day preventive suspension from July 21 to August 21 while the SAIC gathers evidence to be of use in the case.

She was blamed for the loss of 28 PhilHealth checks issued to CCMC after she admitted in her first affidavit that she released the checks to a certain Concha Ruth Adlawan who introduced herself as a PhilHealth employee.

But later, Archua passed the blame to a detailed City Treasurer’s Office staff, Mary Grace Lopez, whom she said is the one in-charge of all PhilHealth transactions and the one who actually released the checks last May. (THE FREEMAN)