Town mayor denies link to death of mother at childbirth

CEBU, Philippines - Manjuyod town Mayor Felix Sy in Negros Oriental has vehemently denied what he claimed as false and baseless allegations against him regarding the death of a mother during delivery at the lying in clinic in his town last November 21.

Sy said the accusations against him were meant to malign his name without even giving him time to officially make an answer except for interviews made on the complainant before the Commission on Human Rights. He said he has been waiting for an official complaint for him to answer such baseless allegations in the proper forum. The mayor said the mother, Nerissa Cordova, did not die in the lying-in clinic but in the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital where she was referred to by a midwife in Manjuyod.

Earlier, the CHR-Negros Oriental, through field investigator Jess Cañete, disclosed that the mayor is included in the list of persons to be subpoenaed by the commission to explain why he should not be held liable for not immediately responding to the call for help by the midwife, while he was on a meeting, considering that he is a physician by profession.

Sy, in a text message to The Freeman, said: “I can’t answer because I have not read the allegations. I did not also hear pronouncements made over the radio. Only Gods knows about the false allegations against me and that the people of Manjuyod know the truth.”  (FREEMAN)