‘Fiscal entitled only to PhilHealth coverage’

IS Asst. City Prosecutor Ma. Theresa Casiño, who remains in critical condition in the wake of last week’s shooting incident, entitled to financial help from the government, particularly the Department of Justice (DOJ)?

Except for an allocation from Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane said Casiño may not get receive anything else.

“The government doesn’t have a budget for that particular purpose (hospitalization and medical expenses of a prosecutor),” Gubalane told Cebu Daily News.

Still, Gubalane said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima as well as Prosecutor General Claro Arellano vowed to extend a financial assistance to Casiño from their own resources.

Gubalane said the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also continues to raise funds to help Casiño’s family.

Asst. City Prosecutor Aida Sanchez said Casiño was transferred from the Intensive Care Unit of Chong Hua Hospital to the Intermediate Care Unit.

“The Intermediate Care Unit is intended for patients who are in stable condition but still need to be monitored,” Sanchez said.

She said Casiño keeps has been responsive but continues to close her eyes most of the time.

As of Monday, Sanchez said Casiño’s hospital bill has reached over P200,000.

Casiño was headed for the Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 1 at the fourth floor of the Palace of Justice when she was shot by Canadian John Pope.

Before he shot Casiño, Pope killed lawyer Juvian Achas and Dr. Rene Rafols inside the courtroom of MTCC Branch 6. Pope was shot by a policeman near the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office.

But police said Pope committed suicide by shooting himself on the head after he was shot by their officers.

Casiño worked for the labor department before she was appointed to the prosecution service in 2010.

Her two children didn’t know that she was shot. Her husband is a lawyer of DOLE. / Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol