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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Friday, October 27, 2017
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ILOILO City – Services at the Western Visayas Sanitarium (WVS) in Santa Barbara, Iloilo must remain unhampered despite the conflict among ranking officials of the health facility, stressed Department of Health (DOH) acting secretary Herminigildo Valle.
He was reacting to the suspension of WVS administrator and head of the Hospital Operation Patient Support Services Conrado Sorongon Jr.
Valle, who was here yesterday, said even the disbursement of salaries of WVS employees was being affected.
“Ang pinaka-importante na issue talaga, I’d like to point out, is ‘yung services natin hindi nadi-disrupt,” he stressed.
Valle led a national staff meeting of chiefs of hospitals and regional directors yesterday at a hotel here. He vowed to look into the case of Sorongon who claimed there was a conspiracy to oust him.
“While we are settling this issue, tuloy-tuloy ang mga services natin. Mga sahod ng employees nagiging hostage. I don’t like it at all,” said Valle.
Information reached Panay News that some WVS employees, especially the job hires and contractual, have not received their salaries for three months already.
Valle said this was not fair.
“Hindi ko gusto na nadi-disrupt ang services ng empleyado,” he said.
From what he had so far gathered, said Valle, Sorongon’s case had long been dragging and remained unresolved. He said he had ordered an investigation and expressed hope “matatapos soon.”
He, however, declined to set a deadline.
“Ang kaso na ‘yan matagal na ‘yan. They’ve been exchanging mga papers, one side says one thing, and the other side says a different thing. Pinag-aaralan talaga ‘yan ng ating legal (division),” said Valle.
But he said as far as DOH regional director Dr. Marlyn Convocar and WVS OIC-medical center chief Dr. Gary Ong were concerned, Sorongon remained under suspension.
“According to the news tapos na ‘yung suspension nya. Hindi pa clear sa akin talaga kung dalawa ba ‘yung suspension nya o isa lang,” said Valle.
The Health secretary, however, emphasized the importance of keeping WVS’s operations unhampered.
“Minsan, sabi nung ating regional director, walang pagkain ‘yung mga pasyente. That is not acceptable at all. Kung meron silang issues they have to settle it without harming the patients. ‘Yan ang ayaw ko,” said Valle.
According to Sorongon, Valle’s predecessor, the DOH regional director and the OIC-medical center chief of WVS had conspired to suspend and unseat him.
He pointed to his immediate superior, Dr. Ong, as the man behind the alleged Aug. 23, 2017 order of then Secretary Paulyn Ubial preventively suspending him for 90 days.
The suspension order, coursed through Convocar, cited an alleged June 14, 2017 letter from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to Dr. Ong reminding the latter to implement the 90-day preventive suspension of Sorongon on the pretext that his appeal for reconsideration had been dismissed.
“The June 14 letter from the CSC does not exist,” Sorongon stressed while showing Panay News a copy of a CSC certification signed by Ma. Dolores Azis, Records Division chief.
The certification partly stated, “This is to certify that the Office for Legal Affairs, records section, has no record of the alleged letter dated June 14, 2017 addressed to Dr. Gary Ong.”
In another memorandum dated Oct. 18, 2017, Convocar again reminded Dr. Ong to suspend Sorongon.
“Convocar as regional director,” Sorongon stressed, “is not supposed to interfere with an autonomous hospital like WVS. She is not authorized to hire, fire or discipline our personnel.”
Sorongon said he had since then resisted complying with the order because he had already served the 90-day suspension sought for in 2014 yet on the flimsy charge that he had taken out of hospital premises certain documents such as bank books, bank statements, cash advance and liquidation reports. At that time, he was WVS’ accountant who thought it was all right to bring and finish unfinished work at home. In September 2015, he appealed the decision before the Civil Service Commission but it was not acted upon while he was serving his suspension.
“They want me out because I would not tolerate illegal practices,” said Sorongon./PN
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