CCMC credit officer asks court to stop probe

CEBU, Philippines - The credit officer of the Cebu City Medical Center who was blamed for the missing 28 Philhealth checks has asked the court’s intervention to stop the investigating committee led by Mayor Michael Rama from continuing its administrative investigation against her.

Maria Lourdes Archua, whom the committee earlier placed under a 30-day preventive suspension, yesterday filed before the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City a petition for injunction with prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order against Rama and the members of the committee from the City Legal Office.

Also named respondents are Atty. Carlo Vincent Gimena, Atty. Dominic Dino, Atty. Ferdinand Cañete, Atty. Lecel Llamedo and Atty. Jose Marie Poblete.

Archua, through her lawyer Gloria Lastimosa Dalawampu, sought the issuance of a TRO to restrain the investigating committee from further conducting hearings of her administrative case.

The petitioner asked the court to order that the investigation against her should be held in public, to have access to transcript of stenographic notes and other public records without prior review and censorship from the said committee and for her to be allowed the right to record the administrative proceedings.

Archua claimed to have been unfairly subjected to grossly oppressive, arbitrary and unreasonable conduct by the investigating authority.

She claimed to have been unnecessarily dragged into a baseless complaint for gross neglect of duty. Archua was blamed for the missing checks amounting to P239,460.25 issued by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to CCMC.

Archua denied responsibility to it saying it was utility worker Mary Grace Lopez who was really responsible for the release of the checks to a certain Concha Ruth Adlawan.

The petitioner said she was alarmed and troubled when Adlawan failed to return to CCMC prompting her to instruct Lopez to check with Philhealth but Lopez did not heed.

It was Raxie Gemida, billing section messenger, who later found out from Philhealth that Adlawan was not connected with the agency. Archua said they found out that some of the missing checks were rediscounted to Bert Colong, an employee of the City Hall assigned at the Office of the Building Officials.

Archua lamented that she was being singled-out by the respondents, accusing her of being liable for command responsibility. She said there is no indication until now that the committee is investigating the other people involved, especially Colong who rediscounted some of the checks.

"But there is no indication that he would be subjected to an investigation as to why and how he re-discounted government checks in the name of CCMC," Archua said in her 19-page petition.

"What is clear is the efforts exerted by the disciplining authorities to wrap around Mary Grace Lopez and Bert Colong a protective mantle against any investigation even on the strength of glaring evidence that their hands are soiled with the scandal. This is tantamount to an insult on the intellect of the public," Archua said. – THE FREEMAN