COA says: Lapu-Lapu illegally used PAGCOR funds

CEBU, Philippines -  The Commission on Audit has found that Lapu-Lapu City spent at least P28.8 million from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation funds to pay its electricity bills, as well as for cash aid for senior citizens.

COA-7 Regional Director Alicia Malquisto told Lapu-Lapu Mayor Paz Radaza that the expenditures violated the Government Accounting and Auditing Manual, which mandates that “Trust Funds shall be available and may be spent only for the specific purpose for which the trust was created or the funds received.”

COA recommended that the city reimburse the amount used.

Lapu-Lapu receives a P1.5 million donation from PAGCOR every month but the Memorandum of Agreement between the city and the corporation mandates that the money should only be used for specific projects stipulated in the contract.

“That is why nga kinahanglan i-establish usa sa parents kon naa ba’y order sa doctor ang pag-pacifier or wala. Kon walay order sa doctor nga i-pacifier so it’s clear nga maltreatment siya and violation na siya,” Jadman said.

The Department of Health has discouraged the use of pacifiers on newborns.

The controversy at the maternity house broke out on social media more than two weeks ago when Ryan Noval posted on Facebook a photo of his baby with a tape across the lips while still in the nursery.

The maternity house has denied the allegations, but this only prompted Lyka Arsua, the mother of another child born there to post a photo of her baby with a tape across the lips to hold a pacifier in place and allegedly, like in Noval’s case, to silence the baby. She gave birth to the child on February 22 and posted the photo on May 24.

Last Tuesday, Lucresio Son, told a radio station that the same was done to his grandchild last year. A fourth complainant also surfaced but like Son, did not have a photo to prove the allegations.

Even in the absence of a photograph, Jadman said the testimony of the complainants itself is sufficient enough when placed under oath.

“Ang importante lang, ma-prove nila nga didto gi-anak ang bata, naay hospital records, naay date of delivery kay masubay mana,” he said, adding, “ang CHR does not require money, only the affidavit. We will send our investigators to conduct investigation then send notice to the hospital and we will require them to reply.”

Jadman said the CHR is open to Noval’s suggestion for members of the Regional Sub-committee for the Welfare of Children to reconvene meet with the other complainants.

Son said he is willing to cooperate but the mother of the child is uninterested. “Dili nalang ko kay samok na kaayo gud,” she said. The mother of the fourth child reportedly plans to come into the open soon.

Special policy

Meanwhile, DOH 7 Director Jaime Bernadas clarified that the Mother-Baby Friendly Hospital certification that the maternity house is applying for is not a licensure requirement but a “special policy for the promotion of wellness.”

“It is an additional certification issued to a facility so that they can be given a compliance certificate for additional patient safety requirement to avoid the consequences bottle feeding and artificial feeding,” he said.

He said the issues that arose from the controversies will be dealt with by the “appropriate agencies” and, on the part of DOH, the case will be referred to its legal department.

He said DOH cannot look into the other complaints because it has not been notified formally just yet.

“We have not been notified… let them submit a picture authenticated and signed and identified that it is taken from where, who took it, the date, the name of the patient, the mother, all of those information,” he emphasized.

Explanation

Yesterday, Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella sent a letter to the maternity house asking its medical director, Dr. Raida Varona, to issue an “honest” statement on the controversies. The maternity received the letter at past 5 p.m.

“In the interest of transparency, I would like to request a clear and categorical statement  from you on whether or not, absent written protocols, procedures and policies, it is a common hospital practice for Cebu Maternity House nurses to tape with plaster infants’ mouths to hold in place their pacifiers,” Labella’s letter reads.

“…please understand that we do not endeavor to pose as litigants or to pretend to be experts on the proper observance of infant care practices, but we intend to help expedite the resolution of an incident that Ryan Noval (the father of baby Yohannes), who has considered tapping on international agencies, is seeking redress from,” the letter reads further. — with Jean Marvette A. Demecillo, Sherwin Oro Gabrinez, UP Masscomm Intern/JMO (FREEMAN)