J.R. Borja City Hospital Scam (Part 1 of 2)

February 20, 2010

BATIN BANTER’S: By Atty. Manuel Ravanera

The late Justiniano “Tinieng” R. Borja, the venerable and most decorated Mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, once wrote:

“Life is a gift, and what a gift it is! I have learned that the more you give of yourself, the more you have the gift of life; That he who forgets self and gives all that he is entirely and devotedly to something or somebody and he who lives for justice and truth without caring for the consequences, receives a thousand times more than he gives.”

Among the gifts he left behind is a hospital that he built as a Mayor in the early 60’s. After his demise, the hospital was named after him.

More than forty years have passed and the original building of the hospital has started to crumble down. The services that have been rendered to the Cagayan de Oro’s ailing populace have become too insignificant that the poor has started to rely, when it comes to health services, not on its own local government, but on foreigners, specifically the German Doctors.

The city hospital has virtually become a white elephant, useless yet expensive. To some, it has become a milking cow that enriches their pockets instead of a venue to heal health maladies of Cagayanons. Jokes have circulated comparing the city hospital’s patients to be like dreams that have reached Mona Lisa’s doorsteps: “They just lie there, and they die there!”

Nevertheless, a few employees determined to bring life anew to the ailing, emaciated hospital came out in the open when they saw hope in the initial governance of the new Mayor, the honorable Tinnex Jaraula. They unearthed the manner in which corruption and irregularities were committed by a few people. They decided to file anti-graft and corruption charges against those who have pillaged the coffers of the city through the hospital.

These good souls laid bare the truth through their sworn statements that enumerated anomalies after anomalies in the purchase of medicines, hospital supplies, medical equipment and apparatus.

Consider the following anomalous purchases found in the affidavits of 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:

On Medicines:

In several instances, the city hospital bought from ECE Marketing antibiotics particularly, Tazocin (4.5 gm) that was nearing its expiry date at a price P3,058.00 per vial. 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 at P2,571.00 per vial. Worse, the hospital pharmacy sells the said antibiotic to poor patients at a price of P3,363.80, almost P800.00 more than the selling price of Mercury Drugs.

The hospital also bought Dopamine HCL at a price of P949.00. Yet, this kind of medicine was bought by the hospital from a different company at only P110.00 per vial. This reveals the overprice of more than 800%.

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.

On Medical Supplies:

There is only one supplier that provides about 80% of purchases for medical supplies. The procurement of medical supplies from February 2006 to July 2007 from Berovan Marketing has reached a staggering amount of P3,472,285.85.

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. 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 200%.

The hospital also bought from Berovan Marketing a Food Conveyor that could contain only 36 trays at a price of P110,000.00 but the invoice showed that the hospital paid P119,500.00 (about the price of a multicab). The food conveyor easily rusted and did not even command a price of P50,000.00.

Moreover, the purchases were clearly in violation of RA 9184 known as “Government Procurement Reform Act”. There were practically no quotations submitted by at least three (3) various suppliers and did not undergo the required procedure for purchasing.

Yet, all these wasted monies are a pittance compared to the purchase of hospital supplies, equipment and apparatus which have been recorded to have reached an inconceivable and mind-blowing amount of about twenty million pesos.

(For your comments, please email mrravanera@smartbro.net)

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Emano and Her Elks

February 20, 2010

SCINTILLA: ATTY. ROGELIO BAGABUYO

Look who’s talking!
Taray and her elks have the gall to say: Dirty politics must be stopped. And we have to unite so as to improve the economy of our country.
But, we all know that our country is down precisely because of PGMA’s dirty politics, unstoppable graft and corruption, at all levels and unabated jueteng and other illegal numbers game.
First, Taray grabbed power from the legitimate President on the pretext of wide spread jueteng. She then spent the people’s money to buy votes to insure her victory, so the opposition and the controversial tape say.

* * * * *

Now that the end is near for Taray and company, the Makati Businessmen of the Guillermo Luz and Mr. Concepcion’s kind say that the Philippines can’t afford another people power.
During the time of President Erap, Messrs. Luz and Concepcion were at the forefront of the mass action.
They helped finance the “hakot” of people to show a semblance of popular uprising against a duly constituted authority.
But, now that their charade has been unmasked, they are quick in saying that the people must be calm and respect duly constituted authorities.
Messrs. Luz and Concepcion and the so-called evil society are of the belief that they have been anointed by God as the savior of our motherland. Whatever they say must be obeyed, as they come from God.
Wa mo kuyafi!

* * * * *
I fully subscribed to the suggestion of Senator Nene Pimentel that both PGMA a.k.a. Taray and Noli de Castro a.k.a. “Magandang Umaga Bayad” must resign.
Both of them never had the mandate!
Of course, we all know that both Taray and Magandang Umaga Bayad were proclaimed by Messrs. Noted: goons-alis and Kiko Cuneta or Shawie Pangilinan.
It is high time, our dirty politicians are informed that our constitution provides for elections not selections. In other words, it is not the proclamation that gives our politicians the mandate but the votes.
Ergo, unless the votes are counted, no pretender can have the authority to impose their will on the citizenry.
For the benefit of all concerned, the votes are counted only at the precinct level.
And, since the election returns show beyond the shadow of any doubt that the late Fernando Poe Jr. was voted by the Filipino People, then only he has the mandate to run our country.
And, since both of those proclaimed by Messrs. Noted do not have the mandate, then, according to Senator Nene Pimentel, the Senate President should act as president and call for an election.
On this score, the good senator and I part ways.
We all know that the main reason why the days of the usurpers of power are numbered is because of the controversial tape, where PGMA a.k.a. Taray and Mr. Garcillano are caught on tape talking of massive cheating in the last elections.
This being the case, at this point in time, with malice towards none, it is, to my mind, the height of naivety to call for an election.
Let us not forget that the highest law of the land is the people. We the Filipino people made the 1987 Constitution. And, before that, we had the 1972 Constitution.
History tells us that Comelec proclaimed the late Ferdinand Marcos as the duly elected President of the Philippines.
But, since the highest law of the land was–still is–the Filipino people, it was not the Senate President that acted as president of the land.
The Filipino people installed a certain Cory Aquino!
If the elite composing the evil society were able to make a housewife, a president of our country, why can’t the masses kick out of Malacañang, the congress and the judiciary all the enemies of the poor, the deprived and the oppressed?
If Cory, the housewife, was able to run the country, why can’t a multi-awarded actress–Ms. Susan Roces–whose husband was cheated of the presidency, be installed and made to rule our country with honor and dignity?
While we know that Ms. Susan Roces does not want to be a politician, we also know that she has always been supportive of her husband.
For the sake of the poor, the deprived and the oppressed, we ask, to the point of begging, Ms. Susan Roces to lead the masses in order to restore democracy in our country as well as the hopes as aspirations of the man on the street.
(Pls. send your comments to butzbagz@hotmail.com or bagabuyos@yahoo.com confidential treatment assured)

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Splitting from Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro

February 20, 2010

ONLINE: By Lizanilla J. Amarga Read more

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Kodus to Dureza, Libyan Government

February 20, 2010

ON THE SIDE OF PEACE: Rina de Jesus Read more

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Plunder Charge vs. Vicente Dongkoy Emano, et. al. Part 6

February 20, 2010

60. THAT the P252 million Redevelopment Cogon Public Market BOT Agreement entered by respondents placed the City Government and its constituents at a gross disadvantage;

61. THAT In 2004, COA in its Annual Audit Report 2004 said to quote:

“5. The City General Services Office failed to completely and promptly submit to the Office of the Auditor the contracts for Build-Operate-Transfer Agreement for the Redevelopment of Carmen and Cogon Markets x x x contrary to COA Circular No. 76-34.”

“As of Dec. 31, 2004, the redeveloped Carmen Market is already operational while the REDEVELOPMENT OF COGON MARKET IS ALMOST DONE, but until this date the subject contracts were NOT YET SUBMITTED for review to the Office of the City Auditor.” (emphasis ours) (See ANNEX V-1)

62. THAT in 2005, COA in its Annual Audit Report 2005 under Finding No. 2 said the City Government only PARTIALLY complied with its request;

“Reasonableness of the REPAYMENT SCHEMES on the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) projects x x x could not be determined DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF COMPLETE DOCUMENTATIONS NECESSARY for the review of the total investment on the project and the absence of formula in the determination of the margin of profit.” (emphasis ours) (See Annex W-1)

COA found, similar to that of the Carmen Public Market BOT contract with UKC Builders, Inc., the City Government of Cagayan de Oro is also taking in so much risk. There were provisions in the 25-year Cogon Public Market BOT contract that the repayment scheme be as follows –

1) It will be the City Government who will collect the monthly rentals from the stall holders — regardless of whether the entire number of market stalls were rented out or not or that whether the stall holder paid rent that month or not — the City Government will still pay based on the PROJECTED 80% monthly rental and not on the ACTUAL 80% rental collection; and

2) The City Government will pay 2% every month should the City Government fail to turn over the 80% PROJECTED rental collections.

COA showed a table whereby it stated that the City Government has been paying the accumulated difference of (P3,728,022.84) or (P3.73 million) for the months of June 2005 to Nov. 2005 alone.

63. THAT still in the 2005 COA Annual Audit Report, COA under Finding No. 6 found out that:

“Demolished structures representing the two (2) Public Market structures and Slaughterhouse as a result of the implementation of its redevelopment through Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement with a total value of P20,640,262.09 or P21 million were not dropped from the book of accounts in accordance with the provisions of COA 92-386 or otherwise known as the Rules and Regulation on Supply and Property Management in the Local Government.” (See Annex X-1)

64. THAT under this COA Circular, Respondent Emano should have first filed an application for the disposal of any materials left after the fire gutted down the Carmen Public Market. COA said this would have then prompted the City Auditor to inspect and determine the whether the “subject property is with or without value.”;

65. THAT after the inspection, the committee on awards shall appraise the same and proceed with the disposal in the mode provided by COA 92-386. It will only be at this time that the Cogon Market building property should have been dropped from the Book of Accounts.

66. THAT in 2006, in the COA Annual Audit Report 2006, the COA found out that the respondent Emano and his co-conspirators have approved some amendments to the BOT contract it has with UKC Builders, Inc. yet the amendments were again found to be “DISADVANTAGEOUS TO THE CITY GOVERNMENT’S COFFERS.” To quote:

“The amendment from facility usage fee stated in the original contract to revenue sharing of 80% to 20% of the gross monthly income or projected revenue is disadvantageous to the city government’s coffers, because the LGU was compelled to remit the uncollected projected income from the excess between the projected gross monthly income versus the actual collection collected monthly.” (emphasis ours) (See ANNEX Y-1)

67. THAT COA pointed this out in a table whereby it showed that the City Government paying the excess from the Actual Collections paid from the General Funds of the City Government to the tune of P29,121,435.88 or P29.1 million.

Conclusion

68. THAT all respondents deliberately and intentionally conspired and connived together to use all schemes from misappropriation, conversion, misuse or even malversation of public funds or raids on the public treasury;

69. THAT all respondents deliberately and intentionally conspired and even patently used all means to orchestrate the establishment of ONE MONOLOPOLY in the commercial and construction industries by passing ordinances and orders as intended to benefit ONE PARTICULAR juridical person, UKC Builders, Inc. to the exclusion and prejudice of all other firms in the same industries;

70. THAT all respondents deliberately and intentionally took undue advantage of each of their respective positions, authorities, relationships, connections and influences to unjustly enrich himself personally and themselves as one under the PaDayon Pilipino political party at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the Filipino People and the Republic of the Philippines.

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Plunder Charge vs. Emano, et. al. Part 6

February 20, 2010

60. THAT the P252 million Redevelopment Cogon Public Market BOT Agreement entered by respondents placed the City Government and its constituents at a gross disadvantage;

61. THAT In 2004, COA in its Annual Audit Report 2004 said to quote:

62. THAT in 2005, COA in its Annual Audit Report 2005 under Finding No. 2 said the City Government only PARTIALLY complied with its request;

2) The City Government will pay 2% every month should the City Government fail to turn over the 80% PROJECTED rental collections.

COA showed a table whereby it stated that the City Government has been paying the accumulated difference of (P3,728,022.84) or (P3.73 million) for the months of June 2005 to Nov. 2005 alone.

63. THAT still in the 2005 COA Annual Audit Report, COA under Finding No. 6 found out that:

Conclusion

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ON DEBTOR’S OPTIONS

February 20, 2010

LAW AND BUSINESS: By Atty. Maricar N. San Jose Read more

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Time flies…

February 20, 2010

COMMENTARY: By URIEL C. QUILINGUING

Not too long ago, the late Roger Muñez thought of venturing into the newspaper business. That was sometime in May 1988. His buddies then were his fellow salesmen who also took a crack in publishing local papers—Danny Masiba and Primo Montebon.

The maiden issue came out on May 16, 1988.

The editorial and business offices then was at the Muñez residence at Luna-Tiano streets. After three issues, Roger together with Danny approached this writer to assume as the editor since Gerry was then planning to put up his own paper, the defunct Morning Sun.

This writer was then connected with the Mindanao Extension Office of Senator Aquilino Pimentel at the ground-floor of Pelaez Sports Center.

Danny and Primo knew I had extensive experience in journalistic writings since I was admitted in as a regular member of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club in 1983.

By then, Golden Chronicle assumed a more presentable look, and this writer suggested the adoption of the slogan—Supremacy of Public Interest. We then rented a space at Carrasco building along Pabayo-Cruz Taal streets. From then on, Golden Chronicle emerged as the number one weekly paper in Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao. There was no daily then.

The weeklies, aside from Ang Bagong Katarungan were the Cagayan de Oro News Express of the late Noli Olarte, Business Journal of Manny Quisumbing, Mindanao Post of Lorrie de la Serna, Mindanao Star of Bienvenido Cruz, and Mindanao Herald of Cynthia de Leon.

After six months, Golden Chronicle was coming out in at least 12 pages and as much as 16 pages. It had a circulation of over 2,000 copies and was all over Northern Mindanao, including the areas now within the Caraga region.

And guess who were with the Golden Chronicle at that time?

Perhaps unknown to the younger crop of media practitioners that Golden Chronicle had served as the training ground, if not the springboard of some successful journalists today. This includes those who had reaped successes—in their own right—who took time out in sharing their talents and experiences to the growth of Cagayan de Oro’s and Northern Mindanao Number 1 weekly newspaper.

Golden Chronicle’s phenomenal growth may have, in the past 10 years, have been overshadowed by the resurgence of local dailies. In fact, those, who organized the dailies saw to it that the dailies could survive by mentoring self-anointed publishers, were once with the Golden Chronicle.

The months and years that followed saw the changing of the guards as far as the editorial work is concerned, without them there would no newspaper at all.

Just imagine a newspaper full of ads and public notices, and if ever there are stories these come from press releases published in toto and would appear the same—including the heading, typographical errors and of varied journalistic styles, if there is any—as other newspapers. Just imagine a newspaper without photographs of major events, except of mug-shots of personalities whose photo files may have been taken 10 or 20 years ago. Just imagine a newspaper without any standard format and all materials are placed on paper’s spaces without due regard to the basic principles of lay-outing of the prescribed sectioning of the paper.

When Golden Chronicle started in May 1988, there were only four of us—Roger (publisher and manager), myself (editor), Al Balite (marketing head) and Flora Balistoy (office secretary).

Before we reached one year, the organization grew to more than 30 and from covering and circulating in Cagayan de Oro to the entire Northern Mindanao region, then including the provinces in the Caraga region.

Those who joined us later included Ms. Dolly Ilogon, who left then popular 99.9 RK FM, to handle the advertising work for the paper while Al Balite focused on circulation; Joe Felicilda, former station manager of RPN-DxKO, who contributed stories; Emil Corrales, who had just retired as regional director of then Office of Media Affairs (now Philippine Information Agency, who wrote off-and-on columns; Jay Valleser also contributed stories until he served as secretary of Mayor Pablo Magtajas and then to RMN TV 8; Froilan Gallardo, a student of Xavier University, who wrote entertainment columns; Bel Olano and Contante Cariaga of Bukidnon, who ran the editorial and business bureau in the province; Casiano Matela, head of our Surigao Bureau; Catalino “Butch’ Chan IV as head of the Camiguin Bureau. There were also representatives from Misamis Oriental based in Balingasag, Camiguin, Ozamis, Iligan, Butuan, Tandag (Surigao del Sur) and Prosperidad (Agusan del Sur. Several others who worked with Golden Chronicle as reporters and advertising representatives.

While we were doing well in terms of coverage, circulation and advertising, returns were not much since our production went to pay for printing cost at the Mindanao Editorial and Printing Services.

Golden Chronicle had its highs and lows the past 17 years but despite these, it continues to survive and maintain what it has been known for all these years—being the top weekly newspaper in Northern Mindanao.

Proof to that is its being the regional winner and finalist in annual Philippine Press Institute-Konrad Adenauer Foundation Community Press Awards since 2002.

Golden Chronicle is the undisputed Number One weekly newspaper in Northern Mindanao and one of the top four weekly newspapers nationwide.

In 2002, Golden Chronicle was regional winner and finalist, with two other weeklies, for Best in Business and Economics Reporting. The following year, it was finalist in three award categories—Best Edited Newspaper (together with two other finalists), Best Opinion Page (with another weekly), and Best in Business and Economics Reporting (with two other weeklies).

Finally, in April this year, Golden Chronicle won its first-ever national award—Best in Business and Economics Reporting—from the Annual Community Newspaper Awards given jointly by the Philippine Press Institute and Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Inc.

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Climbing the Lord’s Mountain

February 20, 2010

Pastoral Companion: By Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ

LAST week I was in Cambodia as part of the Philippine delegation to the “Phnom Penh Dialogue 2008 on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace and Harmony.” Along with some government officials, we were religious leaders representing several faith traditions—two Protestant bishops, a Muslim scholar from the Ulama League of the Philippines, a Muslim woman officer of the provincial government of Sulu, and myself as a Catholic archbishop. We were all there to share our experiences on interreligious dialogue for peace and development in Mindanao and other parts of the country.
This was part of a larger effort started four years ago to engage the 15 countries in the Southeast Asia–Pacific region in interfaith dialogue and cooperation. The convening countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand have by now each hosted a conference–the first in Jogjakarta in 2004, followed by Cebu in 2006, Waitangi in 2007, and the most recent one, with the support of Australia, in Phnom Penh.
The cultural and historical setting of Cambodia for this fourth dialogue-conference was to me a highly significant choice. For perhaps nowhere else in this part of the world can we find such stark contrast between the lowest depths and the sublimest heights that the human spirit can reach.

Genocide Museum
While in Phnom Penh, a number of us, delegates, had a chance to visit the Genocide Museum, named Tuol Sleng, which was the most secretive prison of the Khmer Rouge regime during its reign of terror in 1975-78. This was located ironically in the downtown area of the city. The prison compound was the original site of a high school. Its four three-story buildings with their classrooms were converted into a high-security detention and interrogation center, complete with barbed wire fencing and torture chambers. The classrooms were partitioned into individual cells or dormitories where detainees were chained and isolated for two to four months before being executed.
From accounts of a few survivors, everything was taken away from the prisoners. They were stripped to their underwear and slept directly on the cement floors without any mat, blanket or mosquito net. There was little food, less water, and no medicine. Among the ten regulations posted on each cell were instructions like:
“Do not try to hide the facts by making pretexts of this or that. You are strictly prohibited to contest me.” “While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.” “Do nothing. Sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet.”
A distinctive feature of Tuol Sleng prison was its documentation office which photographed all prisoners and kept detailed biographies of each one from childhood to the date of arrest. It is these ID photos that have now been enlarged and displayed on the walls – blank faces of men and women, including some children, who for the most part were innocent of any crime except for their protests against the excesses of an abusive regime. Interviews and confessions of some of the prison staff, with pictures of their family background, only reinforce the horror of how the spiral of evil can reach down to the humblest of rural households.
At any time, the prison held from 1,200 to 1,500 prisoners. During the three years of its existence, records indicate that there were about 10,500 prisoners, not including another 2,000 children, who were killed in the same place. The numbers themselves are but a microcosm of the estimated one to two million Cambodians—a fourth of the population—who lost their lives under the harsh conditions of the Pol Pot regime. The Khmer Rouge cadres targeted the educated and bourgeois class and “anyone with eyeglasses.” They forced all city residents, young and elderly, to go out and work in the countryside. This was the case of an ideologically-blinded regime that wanted to turn the clock back to an idyllic past where everyone was treated equally—but without human rights nor the freedom of the human spirit.

Symbols of religious faith
In contrast, this idyllic past and the achievements of the human spirit were perhaps best enshrined in the northwestern region of Cambodia. Instead of a third day of conference proceedings, all the delegates traveled to Siem Reap, 300 kilometers away from Phnom Penh. Upon arrival, we visited and walked through the largest outdoor religious monument in the world—Angkor Wat and its surrounding complex of temples constructed from the 9th to the 13th centuries. Built by a successive line of Hindu and Buddhist kings over five centuries, Angkor Wat and the nearby temples of Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom represented sacred space and the symbolisms of religious faith.
With its awe-inspiring landscape, Angkor Wat itself is a microcosm of the Hindu universe. Its surrounding moat and outer walls lead inwards onto three levels of concentric galleries and towers. The towers represent the mountain ranges that surround Mount Meru, the mythical home of the gods. The pilgrim’s upward climb over the massive laterite and sandstone blocks and brick walls is virtually an ascent to the sacred mountain.
In all, Angkor Wat with its intricately-carved figures of gods, warrior-kings, apsaras, and Buddha statues evokes an atmosphere of contemplative prayer, detachment from worldly pursuits, and longing of the human spirit for the divine. These are perhaps best portrayed in the four faces of the Buddha pointed towards the cardinal directions of the compass, and carved repeatedly on the towers of the nearby Bayon temple. These represent the human-divine qualities of Charity, Compassion, Sympathy, and Equanimity.

Multifaith dialogue and cooperation
In many ways, these are the same qualities that our interfaith dialogue hoped to evoke for the Asia-Pacific region. For our troubled world today, the final statement of the Phnom Penh Dialogue stressed the urgency of multifaith dialogue and cooperation, peace as a sacred priority, increased participation of women and youth, and interfaith cooperation addressing community concerns in our region—such as poverty, human rights, and environmental issues.
For the political prisoners of the Khmer Rouge, Tuol Sleng literally meant a “poisonous mound.” But for the builders of Angkor Wat, the temple-mountain represented man’s ascent to God. And for all of us today, pilgrims in interfaith dialogue for peace and harmony, the same invitation to climb the Lord’s mountain is perhaps best echoed in the prophet Isaiah’s summons:
“In days to come,
The mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established as the highest mountain
And raised above the hills.

“Many peoples shall come and say:
‘Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
And we may walk in his paths.’

“He shall judge between the nations,
And impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
Nor shall they train for war again.”
(Isaiah 2:2-4)

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