Zafra: I never received single cent from CHAMP

CEBU, Philippines - Office of the Cebu City Mayor’s chief of staff Philip Zafra cried foul over reports that he availed of over P400,000 assistance from the City’s Hospitalization Assistance and Medical Program (Champ) insinuating his lack of sense of propriety or delicadeza as a government employee.

Zafra said that the allegations are baseless because the City Government has not actually released a single centavo for the bill of his child who had an accident last February.

He said the allegations are obviously malicious and meant to defame him and his family when copies of the editorial of Cebu Daily News published last August 9 and the opinion column of radio anchor and newspaper editor Fred Languido published last August 10 in Banat News were circulated in City Hall last week.

“It pains me, especially seeing my son, at his tender age being unduly dragged into this controversy. I know politics, dirty politics have something to do with this. My wife, my family was deeply hurt,” Zafra lamented.

In a statement sent to The FREEMAN, Zafra said that there is no truth to the report that he availed over P400,000 from CHAMP.

He said that the city has not paid a single cent for his son’s hospital bills as their payables to the hospital remains at P205,594.86.

The total bill of his son who had to undergo a head surgery has reached P408,094.86. Zafra’s son accidentally fell from the bed and suffered from internal bleeding in the head. Young Zafra  was confined at the hospital from February 18 to March 3, 2012.

The child just turned a year old last month and is now doing well, Zafra said. Zafra said they have paid half of the total bill and admitted asking help from CHAMP.

He was granted a Letter of Authority for the amount of P120,582.23 to guarantee the hospital, but he said he specifically told the CHAMP office not to process the payment.

“I have no intention to let CHAMP process the payment because I will pay it myself,” Zafra said. “We cannot understand as to why there are so many heartless individuals out there, who engage in dirty politics and mudslinging at the expense of a child, whose life at that time was at the brink of death,” Zafra said.

Zafra said that because the opposition cannot find faults against the mayor, they are pointing their guns to the people close to the mayor.

“I am contemplating filing a libel case against those responsible. I just hope that one day, they will come to realize the troubles and pains that this issue has caused us,” Zafra said.

The Council has ordered a probe on the alleged use of huge CHAMP funds for City Hall employees including Zafra and secretary to the mayor Belinda Navascues.

Zafra said that even the alleged P145,000 CHAMP funds used for the son of Navascues was never processed. Navascues was questioned not only for the amount but also for signing herself the LOA, which critics said showed a conflict of interest on her part. Navascues was among the persons authorized by the mayor to sign for the LOA.

Rama earlier said that he has no problem allowing City Hall employees to avail of CHAMP for assistance, even more than P25,000, if necessary. Rama said that there is a provision in his executive order that he can grant more than P25,000 on a case to case basis.     - THE FREEMAN