Asturias town mobile clinic facing scrutiny

CEBU, Philippines — The P18-million proposed budget for a mobile hospital in Asturias is facing scrutiny from members of the Sangguniang Bayan, with the council’s Committee on Health questioning the need to prioritize the project while the municipality’s own infirmary remains incomplete.

In a privilege speech, Councilor Mark Paulus S. Noel, chairman of the Committees on Health and Laws and Ordinances, said the council did not approve the proposed budget after council members raised concerns over the lack of documents and information over the project.

Noel said the council was not provided with several documents he considered necessary before the body could properly evaluate the proposed expenditure, including documents related to the loan, procurement, and purchase of the mobile hospital.

He questioned whether spending P18 million for a mobile health facility should take precedence over completing and equipping the municipality’s existing infirmary.

Is it a priority?

“To recapitulate and recall, the budget for this mobile hospital, a whopping P18 million, even when our very own infirmary is still very incomplete, was not passed,” Noel said in his speech.

He said council members should determine whether the proposed expenditure is “really the priority of our municipality at this time,” particularly because it involves public funds.

“We are talking about 18 million of hard-earned taxpayers' money,” Noel said.

The councilor stressed that public funds should be directed toward projects that provide the greatest and most immediate benefit to residents.

He pointed to the municipality’s existing health needs, including the completion of its infirmary, improvement of medical equipment, and provision of accessible laboratory services and medicines.

“Why should we prioritize a mobile clinic when our own permanent health facility is not yet fully equipped and capable of providing the basic services that our people deserve?” Noel asked.

While acknowledging that a mobile clinic may have a purpose, Noel said it should not take precedence over the completion and improvement of the municipality’s existing health facility.

Documents sought

Noel also raised concerns about the documents that were not presented to the council during its discussions on the proposed budget.

He said the council was not provided with the resolution authorizing the loan, the loan contract, documents relating to the bidding for the purchase, if there was any, and the purchase agreement, including warranties.

According to Noel, the council needed to examine those documents to determine the status and validity of the proposed transaction before approving the expenditure.

“If there was no loan contract, yet the resolution of the previous Council has already expired, then it cannot bind our present August Body,” Noel said.

He added that if a loan contract already existed but had not been availed of by the municipality, the council should be able to examine it and determine whether it remained binding or had already expired.

Noel said the lack of complete information could have left council members without a sufficient basis for approving the budget.

The councilor also questioned why the Sangguniang Bayan’s Committee on Health was not fully informed about the proposed mobile hospital.

“The most respectful and collective approach is to involve the frontliner in our town's humble legislative council-the Committee on Health,” Noel said.

However, he said even the municipality’s health personnel were not aware of the features of the proposed health transport, the terms of the contract or the supplier.

Noel said the Committee on Health itself had only vague and limited information about the project, including its contract and features.

He argued that the committee tasked with overseeing health concerns should be among those given sufficient information about the proposed project.

“The Committee on Health should be among the first to understand the project, its specifications, its cost, its supplier, its purpose, and the terms under which public funds will be used,” Noel said.

He also warned against decisions being influenced by personal or political interests, saying public funds must be properly accounted for and justified by genuine public need.

“I say this with all due respect: our decisions must never be influenced by commissions, kickbacks, or any personal or political interest,” Noel said.

He said the municipality’s immediate health priorities should instead include improving the infirmary, completing medical equipment, providing accessible laboratory services and making medicines available to residents.

Noel said he was relieved that some members of the council sought clearer information before voting on the proposed budget.

The 5-5 vote

According to Noel, the vote on the proposed budget ended in a 5-5 split.

He said the result did not constitute a tie that the vice mayor could break because the measure required an absolute majority, or six affirmative votes, for approval.

Noel raised the question of what would have happened had six councilors voted in favor of the expenditure while four voted against it, saying the absence of complete documentation could have left the affirmative votes without a clear basis.

“Everything would have been guesswork,” Noel said.

Noel described the non-approval of the budgetary item as a “blessing in disguise,” given what he characterized as unresolved and unclear matters surrounding the proposed project.

He said he was not opposed to improving healthcare services for Asturias residents but opposed prioritizing the mobile hospital while more basic health needs remained unfinished.

“I am not against providing better healthcare to our constituents. I am against prioritizing a project when more basic and urgent health needs remain unfinished,” Noel said.

Noel also expressed hope that no purchase order or sale document had been signed following the disapproval of the budgetary item.

He said the council should continue involving one another in decisions involving public funds, emphasizing that their collective responsibility is to ensure accountability and serve the residents who elected them.

“Let us serve the people who chose us with dignity and responsibility,” Noel said. — (FREEMAN)