A three-man management team from the Department of Health took over the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City yesterday, while two of CLMMRH's top officials were served orders to transfer to the DOH regional office in Cebu.

The management team arrived amid complaints by employees of non release of salaries for two weeks, non-payment of most of their Government Service Insurance System remittances, and lack of medicines at the hospital, Willy Dueño, spokesperson of the Alliance of Health Workers, said.

He claimed there was no money because the CLMMRH officials were juggling funds. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the management team that was accompanied by Health Undersecretary Margarita Galon to the CLMMRH, will address the complaints of the employees along with the numerous other problems of the hospital.

Ordered transferred to Cebu yesterday were Dr. Domingo Vega, CLMMRH chief, and Dr. Benito Bionat, CLMMRH chief of clinics, Galon said. She said Bryan Baylon, CLMMRH chief administrative officer, was not ordered transferred as he is currently serving a 90-day suspension.

Bionat yesterday said a notice of transfer given him did not bear his name but directed him to report to Cebu today, July 17.

Bionat said he was not given due process and will forward the matter to his lawyer for action.

Baylon also said he will take legal action against DOH officials for the way he has been treated.

Duque told DYEZ Aksyon Radyo they can say what they want but the DOH has affidavits from hospital employees also complaining against them, which they have been directed to answer.

A DOH probe team that visited the CLMMRH earlier had found defects in the hospital procurement system and recommended to the DOH legal service the filing of charges against Vega, Bionat and Baylon. The Legal Service division is currently determining whether the recommended charges should be filed.

Bionat and Baylon had earlier blown the whistle on what they called anomalies in the excessive purchase of oxygen at the hospital that cause the probe team to go to there.

The two said they were surprised that after they had blown the whistle on anomalies at the hospital, they were among those recommended to face charges.

The media went to the CLMMRH yesterday morning but were told that someone at the office of Vega had given instructions that they could not interview the management team as they were at a meeting. However, when the media went to Vega's office, the person who gave the instructions refused to let them in or answer questions.

A source said Vega had said goodbye to the hospital personnel yesterday and met privately with the management team before taking them around the hospital.

Galon, when reached on the phone by the DAILY STAR, said Vega took them around as he was introducing them to the people at the hospital.

She said the management team is composed of Dr. Jaime Bernadas, Region 10 assistant regional director, who will take the place of Vega as chief of hospital, Dr. Epifania Simbul of the National Children's Hospital in Quezon City who will take over from Bionat as chief of clinics, and Carlito Pilirin of the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum who will be the acting administrator. They are being assigned at the CLMMRH hospital for a month and a half, Galon said. After that period is over they will await instructions from the DOH head office on what to do next, she said.*CPG

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