Guv blames politics for stalled hospital budget

By Felipe V. Celino 

ROXAS CITY, Capiz— Governor Esteban Evan Nonoy Contreras blamed politics for the non-approval of the P47-million supplemental budget requested by the Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital (RMPH).

“For my several years as board member and vice governor of the province of Capiz, only this year that the provincial board strictly scrutinized the budget request which is the job of the Commission on Audit (COA),” Contreras said.

Contreras said that when he was still allied with the Liberal Party (LP) led by former Senator Mar Roxas, budget requests were immediately approved without prolonged deliberations.

Contreras added that the strict scrutiny of documents began when he ran as an independent and defeated the incumbent governor of the LP with huge margin of votes in the 2019 elections.

“I would believe that they could not accept that the leadership of the provincial capitol was taken from them which the LP had ruled for several years,” Contreras added.

Recently, Contreras, along with former governors Jose Borda, Esteban Dodoy Contreras and Vicente Bermejo took their oaths as new members of the ruling PDP-Laban Cusi wing.

The squabble between the executive and the legislative sparked after the provincial board stalled the P47 million supplemental budget intended for the salaries and purchase of medical equipment of the RMPH amid the pandemic.

The non-approval has led to a candle lighting protest of the RMPH health workers Wednesday evening.

Board member Jonathan Besa lamented the protest action saying the frontliners were blinded to the issue and instead blamed the SP for not approving the request.

Besa said it is not true that there are no available funds for the salaries of more than 500 job order and contract of service employees and for medicines and other supplies on the said government-run hospital.

Based on data from the Provincial Budget Office, P4,022,615.15 are left for Other General Services; P760,269.60 for Other Professional Services; P3,998,658 for Medical, Dental and Laboratory Supplies; and P975,602.86 for Drugs and Medicines Expenses.

Besa said the RMPH’s payroll was forwarded on September 13 for the August 1-31 salaries of job order and contract of service workers.

Even if the approval of the P47.5-million budget request is pending, it could not affect the health workers because there are still funds left.

Besa clarified that the provincial board could not immediately approve the request of RMPH for its failure to submit documents asked by the committee on appropriations.

Vice Governor Magbanua, for his part, said that he does not oppose the supplemental budget request.

The only problem was that the RMPH management was slow to submit the documents as the basis of the provincial board.

“Kun indi ma-comply sang ospital, indi dapat pag-ibalik ang basol sa Sanggunian bangud ginabuhat lamang nila ang ila trabaho nga proteheran ang kwarta sang pumoluyo”, Magbanua said.

To prove that they do not block the budget request, he said provincial board unanimously approved the request for appropriations of Bailan District Hospital, Provincial Health Office and Capiz Rehabilitation Center after they submitted the requested documents.

Board members Enrique Martin, Thea Faith Reyes, Wildie Apolinario, Mathew Hachuela, Philippines Councilors League (PCL) President Mitchelle John Patricio and Sangguniang Kabataan(SK) Federation President Renzo Teves, who were present during the press conference, shared the same observations.