Advocacy Mindanow

“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)