P900,000 payable to VSMMC surprises Magpale; indigent patients turned away

Hospital bills left unpaid since 2010 forced the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) to stop receiving indigent patients referred by the Capitol since last week.

The payables of P900,000 owed to the government hospital came to light when beneficiaries complained that they were turned away after being referred there.

Acting Cebu Gov. Agnes Magpale yesterday said she intervened after finding out about the problem this week.

“I called up the Treasurer’s Office and we decided to pay P700,000 just to accommodate the patients again. I also talked with the hospital chief Dr. Gerardo Aquino and he promised to admit indigent patients again,” she said.

“We are paying the service providers on a staggered basis because we cannot make full payments as of this time,” Magpale added.

The discovery of the unpaid hospital bills was the latest in a list of obligations of the Province of Cebu to about 40 companies and institutions that amount to over P900 million that – payables that landed on the desk of Magpale when she was installed as acting governor in Dec. 18, 2012 or over a month ago.

“The bills went up since each indigent beneficiary from the province is given P3,000 financial assistance by the Capitol. The Provincial Social Welfare Office only told me about it last week,” she said.

When an indigent seeks medical assistance and approaches the office of the Cebu governor or vice governor, he or she is first referred to the Provincial Welfare Office.

The individual is then referred to the VSMMC with an endorsement so that the patient can get free treatment, charged to the province.

As of January, the list of payables of the Province of Cebu reached P900 million.

With such a large amount, Magpale said the Capitol can only pay installments.

Even then, she said, the bills can only be fully settled by whoever becomes governor in this year’s elections.

The Capitol’s General Fund stands at P90 million.

The list includes billings from contractors, construction suppliers, food caterers, hotels, and vehicle suppliers.

An inventory of payables is still ongoing since some vouchers are still in the possession of other offices, the vice gov ernor earlier said.

Suspended Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia disputed Magpale’s disclosure and challenged her to a debate, saying it only showed “her elementary knowledge” of the Capitol’s finances.

Magpale is a runningmate of the Liberal Party-Cebu (LP-Cebu) chapter chairman Hilario Davide III, whose opponent is Garcia’s younger brother, Rep. Pablo John Garcia of Cebu’s 3rd district.

Magpale’s disclosure came amid an announcement from Rep. Benhur Salimbangon of Cebu’s 4th district that he plans to increase the health coverage of constituents from P10,000 last year to a maximum of P20,000 this year.

He said he signed an agreement with Dr. Aquino granting increased medical coverage to his constituents in the fourth district through his so-called “Benhur” cards.

As a procedure, Salimbangon said the government hospital will first charge the constituent’s bill to his Philhealth coverage. Excess bills will be charged to the patient’s Benhur card.

The P20,000 increased medical coverage will be sourced from the P5 million allocation from Salimbangon’s pork barrel.

The congressman said the allocation will be made available next month. Correspondent Renan Alangilan and Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac