MikeLigalig.com

By Ven Arigo
Bohol Chronicle

City hall is hugely indebted to the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) for its Blue Card Program in the amount of almost P2 million, including collectibles way back in 2007.

This was confirmed despite the denial by an administration councilor in a Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) session that there was any payment demand letter received.

In fact, hospital chief Dr. Nenita Po formally wrote and asked the mayor to “process and tender payment” as early as December 4 last year.

The accounts receivables as of November 30 in 2008 had already reached P1.937 million.
The Blue Card debt originally accumulated to P2.146 million covering the unpaid bills from July to December in 2007 and January to May 21 in 2008.

The Blue Card Program, a pro-poor health care approach of the city government, was created pursuant to an ordinance co-sponsored by then Vice Mayor Nuevas Tirol-Montes and Councilor Jose Antonio Veloso, now the vice mayor and city council presiding officer.

However, the program is implemented by the executive department headed by the mayor as the local chief executive.

Minority Councilors Zenaido Rama, Mariquit Oppus and Bebiano Inting earlier inquired why the just-approved 2009 city annual budget does not reflect the Blue Card expenditures for 2007 and 2008.

This is inspite of the program’s yearly allocation of P4 million.
According to an SP member, City Budget Officer Rosemarie Palma explained that the previous funds might have not been exhausted and simply placed in a trust fund.

Veloso said that if that would be the case, then there would have been no unpaid Blue Card bills.
The excess, if there was any, should have been reflected if indeed placed as a trust fund since the mayor himself said in his budget memorandum last year that trust fund entries should be stipulated.

The city’s confirmed failure to pay its debt to the GCGMH resulted in a recommendation to amend the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the Blue Card between the hospital and city hall.

State Auditor Marina Mascariñas recommended in her Audit Observation Memorandum to revise the agreement and include among its provisions that the city should be required to regularly deposit with the hospital a certain amount to pay the Blue Card bills.

The audit memorandum also demanded that the billing and social services sections of the hospital should be furnished a masterlist of the Blue Card beneficiaries.

The memorandum was rendered by the state auditor as early as June 4 last year.
Apart from the Blue Card, there are other social benefit projects funded out of taxpayers’ money and thus no city official can singularly claim credit for them.

These include the services to the senior citizens allocated with P2.5 million in this year’s budget, higher by over 500% as against last year’s P400,000 only.

The allocation for the senior citizens is a source of the city government expenses for free movie passes, birthday cakes and other gifts on occasions such as milestone anniversaries.
Uniforms, bags and school supplies to public elementary students in the city are also provided out of people’s tax.

The budget for the said items comes from the Special Education Fund (SEF), which is one percent of the annual real property tax collection.

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