De Oro gov’t doc’s birthday surprise: Arrest for SSS violations

ILIGAN CITY—A government doctor was celebrating his 41st birthday on Sunday (July 5) in advance when police arrived to arrest him at his home at the village of Tubod.

The doctor, who works at the Cagayan de oro City Health Insurance Office, was surprised to learn he faced charges of violating the Social Security Act as a representative of a nongovernment organization (NGO) in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon province, according to police.

Maj. Abogado Mautin, Iligan City police station 4 chief, said an arrest warrant had been served on Dr. Charles Marquez for violation of the social security law.

The warrant, issued by Judge Emmanuel Pasal, of Regional Trial Court Branch 9 in Malaybalay City, described Marquez as representative of the group Kalasan People’s Center for Environmental Concern Inc., an NGO based in Malaybalay.

Mautin said family members did not want the arresting officers to bring the doctor to the police station at first but the doctor submitted himself to police.

“Even Doc Marquez could not think how he could be facing a case but he did not resist arrest,” Mautin said.

Marquez said he knew about the NGO in 2013 when the group had asked to use his name as chairperson for “registration purposes.” “But I do not know what happened next,” Marquez said.

He said he had nothing to do with the group’s operation. “In fact, I don’t even have any idea who to call now,” he said.

When sought by Inquirer to explain, Dr. Cheryl Jariol, manager of the SSS in Iligan, who had nothing to do with the case said  charges of violations of the Social Security Act could have meant that the  NGO  could have failed to report and produce employment records of its workers, failed to remit its employees’ SSS contributions and “other obligations of an employer to employees.”

The SSS office which served as the complainant of the case could have based it on a complaint filed by an NGO employee.

The court had allowed Marquez to post a bail of P24,000 for his temporary liberty.

But past midnight of June 6, the doctor was rushed to a hospital here because of hypertension.

TSB