Tomas wants medicines, CCMC budget to barangays

SHOULD he be re-elected anew as mayor, Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district reiterated anew that he will consider closing down the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

Instead of allocating medicines to the city hospital, the congressman said these should be distributed to the barangays directly via the Department of Health.

“We are spending so much money on the hospital but where is the service?” he asked.

Osmeña told barangay captains who attended a meeting he called for at the White Gold House last week that diverting the P200 million budget for the CCMC to the barangays would make them more “responsible” for their constituents.

But Osmeña’s plan drew fire from barangay captains aligned with Mayor Michael Rama, who insisted on keeping the CCMC open during his stint as vice mayor.

Barangay Busay captain Eliodoro “Yody” Sanchez said the congressman “should  stop criticizing the CCMC, which “is very important to the poor people.”

“The CCMC is now better compared to some previous years, the services, the doctors are improving (but) of course dunay mga kapalpakan (there are failures) just like in other private hospitals,” he said.

Sanchez said barangays would have a hard time handling the distribution of medicines and medical services if it were devolved to them.

“If it will be in our control, how can we maintain the X-rays? We are only capable of midwifery service. We don’t even know how to manage health centers,” said Sanchez.

He said that there’s no space to expand the health centers of some barangays.

For his part, Barangay Sto. Niño captain Pancho Ramirez of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) said he is okay with the P200  million appropriation to the barangays.

Osmeña said he got the idea of centralizing the funds to the DOH from Tagbiliran City in Bohol province.

He said in Tagbiliran City, they have designated doctors who can accommodate patients in their clinics.

“They go  to a special drugstore in their City Hall. The drugstore will recognized whether the one who issued the prescription is authorized or not,” he added. Correspondent Tweeny M. Malinao with a story from Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac