Emano, Calingasan face 32 counts graft charges for City Hospital scam

April 26, 2008

emano Former Cagayan de Oro city mayor now vice-mayor Vicente “Dongkoy” Emano, former City Health czar Dr. Jerry Calingasan and their cohorts are having a hard time answering the P20 million medicine scam complaint slapped against them at the Office of the Ombudsman.

The criminal and administrative charges involved overpriced purchases of medicines and hospital supplies for the J.R. Borja Memorial City Hospital during the nine-year Emano administration.

It involved six counts of violation of the Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corruption law and violation of RA 9184 known as “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

The complainants’ lawyer Atty. Manuel Ravanera disclosed that the City Legal Office and other private lawyers hired by the respondents have yet to file their counter-affidavits to the case.

The complainants include Rhodora Christine B. Patana, Judyflor D. Daculiat, Nicomedes Bactong, Lorna Monterola, Esmeralda Tejada, Artesia Zenaida Latar, Malou Villamor, Quennie Lynn Abrogar, Sharon Rose Damolo, Judith Lim, Chona Pepania and Floramae Ortega.

All their affidavit-complaints contained accounts on how there were numerous “anomalous purchases” made by the respondents in the previous years that has amounted to an aggregate total of around P20 million.

“Karon kadipodipo na abogado ni Dongkoy. Kaduha na nag-extension of time to file counter-affidavit. (Now, the lawyer of Vicente “Dongkoy” Emano is scrambling to answer the complaint we filed. The lawyer has already requested the Ombudsman for two extensions to file their counter-affidavits),” Ravanera said.

“Gipangita pa sa ila mga original sa vouchers nga among gi-attached. (They are still looking for the original vouchersof those we attached in our complaint).”

Already, Emano and 26 other respondents are facing a P1.4 billion plunder charge at the Office of the Ombudsman formally filed last Dec. 11, 2007 by City Councilor Teodulfo Lao, City Councilor Zaldy Ocon, former City Councilor Atty. Roy Raagas and Atty. Rogelio Bagabuyo.

Two boxes of documents

Meanwhile, Ravanera showed Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro the two boxes filled with documents that includes receipts, delivery orders, vouchers and other supporting papers to prove their case against Emano, Calingasan and the latter respondents.

He disclosed that a number of employees and even casual workers at the City Hospital as well as at the City Hall have been keeping a number of evidence against Emano and his cohorts.

“Gahulat raman kini sila nga mabise-mayor si Emano kay kabalo sila nga si Mayor Jaraula dili ga-consenter aning mga illegal nga binuhatan nila (These employees and casual workers are keeping a number of evidence against Emano and just waiting for the time that Emano will be merely a vice-mayor as they know incumbent City Mayor Constantino Jaraula does not consent to their illegal activities),” he said.

He added that these few employees are determined to bring “life anew” to the City Hospital that was supposedly the legacy of the then remarkable City Mayor Justiniano Borja.

Ravanera showed documents how the City Hospital under the Emano-Calingasan hand purchased from ECE Marketing antibiotics particularly, Tazocin (4.5 gm) that was nearing its expiry date at a price P3,058.00 per vial.

Also, documents that the same antibiotic was also bought from Mckline Enterprises at P3,057.00 per vial.

“But upon inquiry from Mercury Drugs, the drugstore sells the same antibiotic only at P2,571.00 per vial or P486.00 more per vial,” he said.

But what really angered the complainants and Ravanera was how the Emano, Calingasan and their co-respondents were not content on pillaging the coffers of the City Government but also the pockets of the poor indigent patients.

This as the J.R. Borja Memorial City Hospital’s Pharmacy even sells the above antibiotic to poor patients at a price of P3,363.80, almost P800.00 more than the selling price of Mercury Drugs.

“Tinuod. Warag nahulog kaduha nila gikawatan ang pobre nato. Ambot nganong wala maulaw si Emano ug si Calingasan nga magsige sila ug ingon they are for the poor (That is true. It would mean that they robbed our already indigent people twice. I do not know why Emano and Calingasan are not embarrassed when they keep on saying that they are pro-poor),” reads a text message from a City Hospital nurse who requested anonymity for personal and legal reasons.

She added that those who do not turn a blind eye to the “inner corrupt workings of Emano and Calingasan” will just find themselves assigned in a night shift at Bolonsori City Cemetery.

800% overpriced

Ravanera also showed documents on how the Emano-Calingasan hand Dopamine HCL at a price of P949.00 for the hospital. Yet, this kind of medicine was bought by the hospital from a different company at only P110.00 per vial.

“There is a difference of P839.00 per vial or that each vial is overpriced for more than 800%,” he said.

Ravanera said there were also medicines that were already paid for by the hospital and yet were not delivered after one year.

“The purchases of some medicines were also so voluminous that they merely pile up as inventories in the stock room of the hospital,” he said.

On medical supplies, Ravanera said a monopoly was given to one supplier who provides for around 80% of purchases for medical supplies of the City Hospital.

He pointed out documents that the procurement of medical supplies from February 2006 to July 2007 from Berovan Marketing has reached a staggering amount of P3,472,285.85 or P3.47 million.

The documents showed how the supplies, comprise among others, alcohol which was bought at P80.00 per bottle but could be bought at about P50.00 per bottle in any drugstore.

Also, there were records showing how there was a purchase of forceps in the amount of P3,600.00 per pair which could be bought from the ordinary pharmacy at P1,200.00.

“Again, this exposes an overprice of around 200%,” he said.

Ravanera said the Emano-Calingasan gave much favor to the Berovan Marketing when it purchased a Food Conveyor that could contain only 36 trays at a price of P110,000.00.

However, he said the invoice showed that the City Hospital paid P119,500.00 for the same.

“This is about the same price as a multicab and to top it all this Berovan Marketing food conveyor easily rusted and did not even command a price of P50,000.00,” he said.

Ravanera also showed more documents from the two boxes revealing how the Emano-Calingasan hand bought more “very overpriced” hospital supplies, equipment and apparatus for Borja’s City Hospital.

“All in all, we have so far recorded an inconceivable and mind-blowing amount of about P20 million,” he said. (By Lizanilla J. Amarga)

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