Soc reacts to COA report

CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez yesterday reacted to the 2011 annual report of the Commission on Audit which states that his administration did not appropriate the correct amount for medicine and hospital bills under its Health Card program. 

COA said there were unrecorded bills from the Talisay District Hospital amounting to P4,559,882.75 as of December 31. 

But in an interview with The FREEMAN, city budget officer Edgar Mabunay said the city should not be faulted for the failure to pay the bills.

Records of the Talisay District Hospital show the city government has an accumulated unpaid obligations of P4,559, 882.75.

“Unsa-on man pagbayad kung wala pa’y bill gikan sa hospital?” Mabunay said.

He said the city government already settled the bills recently. 

The city’s health card program is one of the financial assistance programs extended to indigent constituents. 

The COA pointed out that the city government paid P2 million in 2011 for the Philhealth premiums of its indigent constituents. 

When asked why Philhealth benefits were not availed of first before using city’s health cards, the city government and the district hospital administration said it was easier for beneficiaries to avail of the latter because the paper requirement is easier to meet than those of Philhealth’s. 

The state auditors pointed out the practice is a waste of government funds. 

“The city should have required constituents to avail of Philhealth benefits before taking advantage of health cards in order to maximize the use of funds provided by the city for its health services,” the report read. 

But Mabunay argued that money wasn’t wasted considering that it was spent for the hospitalization of the poor.  (FREEMAN)