ANGELES CITY – Instead of discussing ways on how to fast-track relief distribution in the city’s 33 barangays, the city council here passed a resolution on Wednesday denouncing the Philippine Rehabilitation Institute Medical Center (PRIMC) for allegedly “secretly and deceitfully” admitting a COVID-19 patient and three PUIs from Quezon City.
This developed after the Department of Interior and Local Government ordered the reopening of the said hospital on Monday saying its closure by Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. on March 28 runs contrary to the Bayanihan, We Heal As One Act which was recently passed in Congress.
Former Holy Rosary Parish and San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David has also earlier condemned Lazatin’s decision to padlocked PRI MC calling it “unchristian.”
The just–approved resolution with nine yes votes was sponsored by councilor Pogs Suller with councilors Amos Rivera and Thelma Indiongco abstaining.
In defending his resolution, Suller said the city council only adopted the Liga ng mga Barangay Resolution but instead of “condemning” they changed it to “denouncing, which is a less strong word.”
Suller, a lawyer by profession, said what is not acceptable is the deceitful admittance of a COVID-19 positive patient by the hospital management. He said the patient was secretly admitted without proper coordination with city officials.
He said this is not what was initially agreed when PRIMC was designated as a Covid-19 hospital for “paying patients” and the Ospital Ning Angeles (ONA) for “indigent patients.”
Suller said they also have a sworn duty to protect their constituents from the Covid-19 pandemic which has claimed thousands of lives worldwide.
That is why personnel of the city crematorium in Barangay Sapa Libutad where the Covid-19 patient was cremated have to be quarantined to prevent the spread of the virus, Suller said.
The youthful councilor said the patient was able to pass through various checkpoints because he was a doctor and therefore a front liner. Suller said the patient was brought in late Friday and died early Sunday. But Suller said the patient was only cremated Monday because there was no body bag. He said Dr. Froilan Canlas was the one who coordinated the case for the city in obtaining the body bag for the deceased patient and the subsequent cremation.
“We are not denouncing the hospital and its staff but the manner in which they admitted the patient secretly and deceitfully and without proper coordination contrary to what was already agreed before,” he said.
