Closure of Carcar clinic stopped

CEBU, Philippines - The Women and Children’s Lying-In Polyclinic and Laboratory (WCLIPL) in Carcar City must not be touched and can continue operating, at least, for now.

This was the order of the Regional Trial Court when it granted a writ of preliminary prohibitory injunction to Dr. Lyndon Villegas, operator of WCLIPL.

“The application by plaintiff Villegas of a writ of preliminary prohibitory injunction is granted enjoining defendants, their instrumentalities and assigns to cease and desist from disturbing the plaintiff while operating his polyclinic,” reads the resolution penned by Judge Douglas Marigomen of RTC Branch 5.

The writ of preliminary injunction will be issued once Villegas posts an injunction bond of P500,000.

Marigomen said the purpose of injunction bond is for “compensating defendants for any and all damages it may suffer as a result of the issuance of the writ in the event that it maybe latter on adjudged that plaintiff was not entitled to the injunctive writ in the first place.”

The writ of preliminary prohibitory injunction will remain in force until lifted by the court after appropriate proceedings will be conducted or upon order by the higher court, Marigomen said.

The defendants in the case include Department of Health (DOH) Director Susana Madarieta, Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura, City Health employee Myrna Gomez and the Carcar City Government.

Marigomen said the defendants violated Villega’s right to due process when they wanted to close the laboratory down. The laboratory is located in Barraca, Poblacion II, Carcar City.

The defendants immediately filed a motion for reconsideration, saying “the court seriously and gravely erred in its resolution that plaintiff is entitled to a writ of preliminary and prohibitory injunction by resolving the plaintiff’s right to due process has been violated and plaintiff’s is entitled to equal protection.”

The motion will be subject for resolution.

The defendants said that based on an ocular inspection, they found out that Villegas was operating the hospital without necessary permit, no proper drainage, and poor environmental sanitation, including in the kitchen.

There was also no proper waste disposal and no proper septic vault for medical waste.

“The team of sanitary inspectors who conducted an inspection on WCLIPL found it unfit to carry on operations as a lying in hospital considering deficiencies in certain sanitary requirements,” the defendants said.

The DOH then required Villegas to comply with its sanitary requirements within three months.

However, when another inspection was conducted on September 1, 2011, the defendants found out that Villegas still violated the Environment Code on Sanitation of the Philippines and its implementing rules and Republic Act 4226, the country’s hospital licensure law.

Villegas insisted he applied for permits.

“I applied for a mayor’s permit as early as January 10, 2011 as shown in the application and the supporting receipts and clearances, however, the defendants failed to issue the permit prompting me to ask the assistance of a lawyer for the issuance,” he said.

Despite this, on September 22, 2011, the defendants, accompanied with armed men with demolition equipment went to Villegas’ clinic and closed the establishment.

“Patients were removed from their oxygen. The teams led by Apura ordered the patients to transfer to the district hospital (and) later on were transferred to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City,” Villegas said.

He added that the defendants have no legal basis to close the laboratory because they were the ones who allegedly delayed the issuance of permits.

Villegas then filed a case for damages, prohibition with a prayer for writ of preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against defendants and asked P250,000 in moral damages, P100,000 for exemplary damages, P50,000 for attorney’s fees and P50,000 for litigation expenses. – (FREEMAN)