Swift action pushed
on PhilHealth ‘scam'
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Board Member Melvin Ibañez, chairman of the Committee on Health of the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan, yesterday urged the medical community to call for a rapid and immediate investigation into what he called the PhilHealth cataract scam so that it will not affect the national medicare program for the benefit of the poor.

Ibañez especially called on the Philippine College of Ophthalmology to condemn the alleged “scam” using cataract patients, and for PhilHealth and Congress to investigate deeper into the mess.

There is truth to claims that some doctors recruit poor patients who are PhilHealth members in the guise of medical missions involving foundations for free operations, to gain millions of pesos from PhilHealth through reimbursements, Ibañez said.

Bionat optimistic
raps will be dismissed
BY NIDA BUENAFE

Chief of clinics Dr. Benito Bionat of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital yesterday said through his lawyer Maphilindo Polvora that they are optimistic of an outright dismissal of the administrative charge raised by the legal section of the Department of Health against him.

Polvora said they submitted their answer to the DOH two weeks ago although they are questioning the procedure of its legal department in informing his client about the charges.

Bionat reported back to CLMMRH on Oct. 16 after his 90-day assignment order to Cebu had lapsed but found his office without any ventilation as the air-conditioning was removed and the next day, the locks were changed, Polvora said.

City offers Banago
folk three options
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

Residents of Barangay Banago, Bacolod City , yesterday asked the city government to extend the 10-day notice to vacate issued them until a relocation site is available.

They also said the demolition of their structures is not the solution to the flooding problem in the city.

The City Legal Office issued notices to vacate Tuesday to 34 families in Puroks Nami-Nami and Himulaton in Banago whose structures impede the dredging activity being conducted by the city in the Banago Creek to address the flood problem.