Child abuse raps filed against Negros hospital chief

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  – The Office of the Ombudsman has filed at the Regional Trial Court criminal charges against the chief of hospital of the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) in Silay City, Negros Occidental for child abuse she allegedly committed in 2005.

Graft investigation and prosecution officer Ma. Concepcion Billones, filed the case last June 7 docketed as Criminal Case No. 8243 at the RTC Silay, against Dr. Ma. Estrella Ledesma for allegedly violating Section 10, Article VI of Republic Act 7610, or the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploration and Discrimination Act.

Billones certified that a preliminary investigation was conducted on the case and there is sufficient ground to engender a well-founded belief that the crime has been committed and the accused is probably guilty of the crime.

The charge sheet stated that on July 1, 2005, Ledesma allegedly abused Gerard Joseph Sagansay, then a two-year-old, by hitting him, locking him up in the comfort room of the TLJPH (known as Jose C. Locsin Memorial Hospital at the time), and spanking him with her sandals while uttering abusive words to him.

"Ledesma’s alleged acts debased, degraded, and demeaned the worth and dignity of the minor and this has damaged him as a human being," Billones alleged and that the boy's mother, Gemma Sagansay, a clerk at TLJPH, earlier filed charges against Ledesma.

Ledesma could not be reached for comment as of press time but, in earlier reports, she denied the accusation, stating in her counter affidavit filed at the Provincial Legal Office, that she inflicted cruel and unusual punishment on a child that would constitute child abuse.

Provincial Legal Officer Jose Ma. Valencia said he will ask the Office of the Ombudsman if the criminal charges also carry administrative charges, considering that the TLJPH is under the supervision of the Negros Occidental provincial government.

Valencia said the penal provisions for criminal charges depend on the specific law one violated, while for administrative charges, the penalty is either separation or termination from the service. “We will try to inquire with the Ombudsman if they have already initiated the administrative proceedings because if they have not done so, the Provincial Legal Office (PLO) will conduct the administrative proceedings,” he said. (FREEMAN)