Deaths due to Davide's 'criminal neglect'

CEBU, Philippines – Former Cebu governor, now third district representative Gwendolyn Garcia has described the deaths of children at the province-run Minglanilla District Hospital as a "painful consequence" of Governor Hilario Davide III's "criminal neglect."

Garcia made the statement following Davide's admission that he was ashamed by the incident which also pricked his conscience.

But Garcia seemed not satisfied with the Governor's remark.

"Ang iyang pagpabaya is costing the lives of these children. Di na pwede nga moingon ra siya'g nauwaw siya kay nangamatay na nang mga bata… Now, this is criminal neglect in the truest sense of the word. Ngano? Mangabuhi pa nang mga bata sa iyang sorry? Karon mag-sorry-sorry ka lang tungod sa imong criminal neglect that resulted in the loss of human lives?" she said.

She believes that the incidents are not isolated cases but are patterns all over the province.

Garcia's brother Winston earlier said Davide's apology is not enough, as he called on Capitol to improve the services at the province-run health facilities, such as making the hospital services free for all Cebuanos and not just for children as stated in an ordinance, referring to the one which mandates government-run hospitals to provide free medical care to zero to six-year old children.

Winston will be running against Davide in the gubernatorial race come 2016 elections.

The death of one-year old Mary Jane Bariquit at Minglanilla District Hospital was blamed to the alleged negligence of the hospital. The family of the child was reportedly asked to buy the medicines prescribed by the attending doctor Agnes Ademano when these are available at the hospital's pharmacy.

The Capitol has yet to subject a doctor of the said hospital to an investigation, especially for possible violation of the provincial ordinance which provides free medical care to children.

Under the said ordinance, parents and the qualified beneficiaries should also not be denied of free medical care, asked for any form of deposit before admission, referred to private or other pharmacies even if there are available medicines in the in-house pharmacies of the government-owned hospitals.

Another two cases of similar nature which happened in July and October this year also surfaced recently. The Provincial Health Office, however, has yet to conduct inquiry on the issues.

Davide, on the other hand, asked his "detractors" to stop adding insult to injury suffered by the bereaved family and taking advantage of the death of the one-year old child "to boost political stock".

"When I said I am saddened by the untimely demise of Mary Jane Bariquit, I said it with all sincerity.  When I said, I am sorry I said it from the bottom of my heart. More than anything else, my sadness stems from the thought that the life of a young girl was lost when it could have been saved," he said.

"What saddens me most now is that our detractors are taking advantage of the death of a young and innocent girl to advance their political ends," he added. —/NSA (FREEMAN)