CITY TO PAY PHARMACIES

BENEFICIARIES of Cebu City’s City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program (Champ) may soon obtain medicine from Pro-Poor and Pro-Inay pharmacies as the city plans to settle unpaid bills worth P11 million next week.

Marivic Alolod, Champ administrative officer, said they already collected the medicine prescriptions that the Commission on Audit (COA) requires before the city may release the payment.

She said the city did not release the money after COA suspended a payment of P2.3 million for lack of documents. The two pharmacies earlier stopped distributing medicine after the city failed to pay them.

The city did not release payment for other bills to secure the prescriptions.

Assistant accountant Diwa Cuevas said that they are now auditing the bills of the pharmacies. After the auditing, the City Treasurer’s Office will issue a check to the pharmacies. Correspondent Fatrick R. Tabada

MAGPALE: 15 WON’T BE REHIRED

CEBU Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said 15 of 62 vice governor’s office employees whose contracts expire this June 30 will not be renewed since their positions are not needed.

Magpale said she decided which workers won’t be retained based on interviews and evaluation of the employees and ratings given by their immediate superiors.

The workers who will be eased out won’t be replaced to save the province’s money, she said.

But Magpale said that she might reconsider some of the employees jobs in other departments if they are willing to serve there.
She said some employees were already detailed in departments like the Provincial Social Welfare Office. Others might be assigned at the agricultural department or provincial health office.

Meanwhile, Magpale received a memorandum Tuesday from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) asking for any intervention on losing vice gubernatorial candidate Glenn Soco’s poll protest.

Magpale was given five days to answer the letter but said she already decided not to file an intervention.

She said she will just wait for the Comelec recount to determine who really won between Soco and the late Cebu vice governor Gregorio Sanchez in the May 2010 elections. She said she will step down if it turns out that Soco won and will contnue serving as vice governor if Sanchez won. Correspondent Fe Marie D. Dumaboc

CITY HALL BUILDING PROBLEMS

CRACKS have appeared on the floor and walls of the Cebu City Hall’s executive building roof deck, letting rain drip through to the lower stories.
Engineer Emiliano Cruz, head of City Hall building maintenance, said the tiles need replacement while the walls’ canopy, beams and slabs need to be inspected by city engineers.

Cruz said he informed the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) but repairs have not begun. He said they just put sealant on the cracks to minimize the leaks.

A Dakay Construction and Development Corp. study showed that portions of window jambs at the roof deck on the eight floor have no sealant to block rainwater. The canopy had leaking edges. Tiles are brittle due to water seepage.

Pericles Dakay, president and general manager of Dakay Construction, recommended that plaster be put on the walls.

Part of the ceiling at the third floor of the legislative building collapsed last Tuesday during heavy rain. The metal hand rail at the front door of the legislative building was also damaged after a city vehicle accidentally rammed the gate.

The building was completed in 2001 during the time of Mayor Avin Garcia by Go Construction. Correspondent Fatrick R. Tabada