Matutum Winds

05/11/2021

The whole of MSU-General Santos congratulates Engr. Hashim Monir M. Ambia for placing 2nd in the recent October 2021 Electronics Engineer Licensure Examination. Engr. Ambia gets an impressive rating of 92%.

We also send felicitations to our other five newly licensed Electronics Engineers:
Engr. Shane Acana
Engr. Bernadette Bacudo
Engr. Ernie Zaulda
Engr. Adrian Paul Sabalosa
Engr. Fredilo Flores Jr.

The University yet again gave a remarkable performance in the said licensure examination by securing a 100% passing rate for first-time takers and an overall passing rate of 85.71%. The national passing rate is at 47.84% with 710 passers out of a total of 1,484 takers.

Kudos to the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department and the College of Engineering!

03/11/2021

EXEC TO HOTELS: SUE GENSAN LGU TO GET PAID

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – City hall here owes around P22-million pesos to hotels, inns and pension houses in the city after these were used as quarantine facilities as part of the Covid19 response of the local government since January, this year.

But, there is almost no chance that owners of these hotels will be paid what is due them unless they take the matter to court. The city government has accredited at least 19 hotels, inns and pension houses for quarantine purposes.

A frontdesk staff (who requested anonymity for reasons of protocol) of a hotel along Mabuhay Road, here, said they have been getting no definite answer from city hall in their almost daily effort in trying to collect the five million pesos that the city government owes them.

The staff said city hall still owes them 300,000 pesos for bills incurred last year. He said the owner already advised them to stop accepting quarantine referrals by the city government.

The staff said there were only two of them left of the 14 hotel workers because management was already having difficulty with the hotel operating cost. The facility requires almost 200 thousand pesos in monthly electricity bills alone, he said.

A marketing officer (also asked anonymity due to protocol) of another hotel said “Napudpud na sapatos ko balik-balik sa city hall, walay klaro kanusa mi bayaran.” He said the city government owes their hotel more than three-million pesos since January, this year.

Based on actual billing, from January to June, this year, the city government owes the hotels 12,787,407 pesos and from July to September, this year, the amount incurred stands at P9,699,900.

City Legal Officer Armand Clarin said the transactions entered into between the local government and the hotels do not conform with what is allowed under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Instead of requesting first, the obligation has already been incurred prior to the request for procurement, Clarin pointed out.

To remedy the situation, Clarin suggested that the City Council pass a resolution authorizing the city mayor to pay the hotel owners.

He explained before the City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 2, that under RA 7160, the Sangguniang Panlungsod can authorize the City Chief Executive to settle the obligation. “Otherwise, we will just wait for these companies to sue us and on the basis of the judgment of the court, then we will pay.”

City councilor lawyer Franklin Gacal said they cannot be compelled to pass a resolution to such effect as it is tantamount to committing som**hing that is obviously irregular and illegal.

Appearing before the City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 2, after several non-appearance despite being summoned to shed light on the issue of unpaid hotels, executive assistant Philip Pabelic caught the ire of city councilors when he blamed the pandemic as the reason for the non-payment of the hotels.

“Do not blame the pandemic. You have a job to do with your staff,” a visibly irked city councilor Richard Atendido told Pabelic, who reasoned that he and his staff were subjected to quarantine on several occasions.

Pabelic said all the necessary documents pertaining to the hotel obligation are still with the office of City Mayor Ronnel Rivera.

Pabelic said this was after a resolution by the Special Bids and Awards Committee, asking to return to the City Mayor's Office all budget requests for the payment of the hotels.

"I cannot do anything. As much as I wanted them to be paid, what can I do on my part, because there are legality already," Pablelic told members of the City Council.

But Gacal urged the hotel owners to sue the city government.

“What I know, there is no way that the hotels can be paid for their service from January to September. They have to file a case. I'm sorry to inform the hotels that that is the real situation now," Gacal said. # # #

02/11/2021

Police authorities said they will protest before the joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) an incident on Monday night at a checkpoint in Maguindanao where a group of heavily armed men were intercepted.

The group identified themselves as members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (M**F).

The 35 fully armed M**F men on board three vehicles were stopped at a checkpoint in Brgy. Poblacion Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindano at around 10pm on Monday, Nov. 1.

The incident happened as police authorities have put up tighter measures in checkpoints across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) after the killing last week in Maguindanao of Salahuddin Hassan, said to be a top leader of the Dawlah Islamiya in the Philippines.

BARMM Police Director Brigadier General Eden T. Ugale said the move is part of stricter measures, placing all police units in the region on heightened alert for possible retaliatory attacks on the death of Hassan.

Ugale said the slain terror group leader may still have followers who are capable of carrying out violent incidents to avenge his death.

Maguindanao police director Police Colonel Jibin Bongcayao said the M**F members, led by a Commander Abdul Hamid Datuan, claimed they belong to the 105th Base Command of the M**F.

The M**F men said they came from Mother Kabuntalan town and were on their way to their main base in Talitay town in Maguindanao when stopped at a checkpoint.

Boncayao said the armed men were cooperative when they were asked for their fi****ms. “They gave no resistance when we asked them to disembark and submit themselves for inspection,” Bongcayao said.

The police official said the M**F members were brought to the headquarters ng 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion in the adjacent town of Talayan for proper documentation and possible filing of a formal protest before the M**F Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH).

An earlier agreement between the M**F and the government on the cessation of hostilities provides that any movement of armed M**F personnel must be properly coordinated with government forces. In the same manner, government forces need to also coordinate with the M**F when they travel within M**F-acknowledged areas. This is to prevent a mis-encounter.

The incident also happened amid an on-going gun ban being enforced in connection with the coming 2020 general elections.
Boncayao said there was no prior coordination with them nor with the military about the movement of the 35 M**F men who were in military uniforms and armed with various high caliber weapons, travelling on a convoy at night.

A formal protest is expected to be filed on Tuesday by Maguindanao police and the military with the M**F-CCCH and seek an explanation on why the armed M**F personnel travelled without prior coordination.

The M**F has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
Part of the peace agreement that the government and M**F forged under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro is the decommissioning of around 40,000 M**F combatants.
Only 12,145 have so far been decommissioned. # # #

31/10/2021

COMELEC DECLARES PACQUIAO’S PCM BETS INDEPENDENTS

Lawyers of the Sen. Manny Pacquiao-formed People’s Champ Movement (PCM) met on Sunday anew to look into possible options they can take after the Commission on Elections declared as independents all political aspirants under the movement.
Comelec thumbed down on Friday a petition by Pacquiao for PCM to become a national political party.
Incumbent city councilor lawyer Franklin Gacal, Jr., who is aspiring for vice mayor of this city in the 2022 elections, said PCM legal counsels have met to map out the possible steps they can take about the matter.
The move they intend to take: File a motion for reconsideration or make a manifestation before the electoral body.
Without a duly recognized political party, candidates are not entitled to poll watchers, will not have access to official precinct level counts and will not be entitled to a duplicate copy of the canvass of votes.
“We were shocked to learn about it,” Gacal said, saying that if ever, it will be the first time in his long years of political career to run as an independent candidate.
Also rendered independent is barangay Labangal chair Lorelie Pacquiao, supposedly PCM standard bearer for city mayor.
The barangay chair cannot be reached for comment as of this posting
PCM was formed by Sen. Pacquiao in 2009 as a regional political party based in this city. It has fielded candidates in previous elections and many incumbent local leaders belong to the party, Gacal said. Since then, Pacquiao made pronouncement about his plans to make PCM a national political party.
PCM has fielded complete slates in political positions, from councilors to mayors, governors and congressmen, in this city and in the seven towns in nearby Sarangani Province.
The senator has announced in September, this year, that he has ceased being a PCM party official after he was endorsed as presidential standard bearer of PDP Laban.
Subsequetly, the PCM Central Committee amended anew its constitution and by-laws and named Pacquiao’s sister in law Lorelie as party president. # # #

29/10/2021

DAWLAH ISLAMIYAH LEADER, WIFE KILLED IN SKIRMISH

GENERAL SANTOS CITY— A high profile Dawlah Islamiyah leader and his wife were reportedly killed on Friday, October 29, by soldiers early today in Talayan town, Maguindanao.

The Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander, Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy announced that the long wanted Salahuddin Hassan and his wife were killed by soldiers and policemen during an early dawn law enforcement operation in Talayan town, Maguindanao.

Details of the operations have yet to be revealed.

Hassan, known as Abu Salman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), carried a PHP1.3 million reward, was described by a security expert as a protégé of the notorious bomb maker Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan.

Of late, Hassan reportedly led a faction of the Dawla Islamiya terror group operating in south central Mindanao and was also known for his aliases Orak, Salah, Tulea.

Marwan was killed in the famed 2015 Mamasapano Clash that cost the lives of 44 elite policemen.

In an earlier statement to the media, security analyst Rommel Banlaoi said Hassan and his group had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Hassan can train people in manufacturing improvised explosive devices made of 6mm mortar and ammonium nitrate fuel oil, the security expert has warned.

Authorities point to Hassan as being behind the bombings and terror attacks in Maguindanao, Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat provinces and burning of buses of Yellow Bus Lines in Cotabato province. # # #

29/10/2021

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Public school teachers in this city may have to wait a little longer before they can get their long delayed 2020 “additional bonus” after some discrepancies were found on documents needed for the release of funds amounting to about P13-million.

The documents have to be returned to the City Council for needed amendments on the appropriations ordinance they already passed in December last year, giving 2,500 pesos as additional bunos to 5,374 teaching personnel in this city of the Department of Education (DepEd).

City councilor Franklin Gacal brought into the open the long delayed release of the bonus from the local government after confirming this with the city treasurer.

It took 10 months before some people at City Hall took action on the matter even as the Appropriation Ordinance No. 27 covering the additional bunos was passed and approved by the Sanggunian last December 2020 nd signed into law by city mayor, he said.

"Kahapon lang niabot sa opisina sa city accountant ang dokumento after 10 months. Ang pait ani, kay gahapong lang nakita sa mga opisyales. It was only yesterday nga dili ma-release kay adunay sipyat sa dokumento. So, kinahanglang ibalik na pud sa SP for correction," Gacal said on Wednesday, October 27.

He said the ordinance was found to be defective because the source of appropriation was the mayor’s office’s budget for “other personnel services” rather than the fund intended for subsidy for national agencies.

City Budget Officer John Philip Quimosing, interviewed over local radio Brigada News, expressed surprise why the teachers still have not received their additional bunos. “Matagal nang dumaan sa amin ang documents niyan,” he said.

"Ang pangutana kinsa ang nagtago sa mga dokumento for ten months? Apil ba si mayor sa pagtago sa dokumento? Kung dili sya apil, nganu wala sya kabalu nga dili na release ang bonus? Mayor sya, it’s his duty to see to it that the approved budget is implemented. Pag bugas, itlog og sardinas release dayun ang budget."

City Schools Division Superintendent Romelito Flores none of the teachers have received the 2,500 pesos “additional allowance” for 2020 from the city government.

Flores said it has been a long practice that public school teachers in General Santos get 2,500 pesos each as additional allowance from the city government over their regular bunos every end of year.
He said he has no idea why the allowance has been delayed for quite some time already, saying he only heard from news lately that it is being processed already.

Gacal urged the city mayor to certify as urgent the corrected appropriation ordinance they will pass after introducing the needed amendments. # # #

28/10/2021

POLICE CLOSE TO ARRESTING SUSPECTS IN SHOOTING OF DOST12 EXEC

KORONADAL CITY -- Authorities said they have established strong leads on the Wednesday shooting and wounding of a senior official of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Soccsksargen here.

Koronadal City police chief Lieutenant Colonel Joedy Lito Guisinga on Thursday said they have gathered closed circuit camera footage that could help identify the suspects, including person who shot Engineer Normina Pahm, DOST assistant regional director for administrative services.

Investigators said Pahm was waiting for a ride in front of her apartment at Block 1, Mabini Street, Barangay Zone 4 on her way to DOST regional office in Barangay Paraiso around 7:20 a.m. when the incident occurred.

Guisinga said they have gathered enough data on the shooting from the closed-circuit television cameras, where one of footage showed two suspects fleeing after the shooting.

The police also recovered slug and empty shells at the crime scene and these were forwarded to the South Cotabato crime laboratory for ballistic investigation.

“This is a sensitive case so we are moving swiftly but carefully with the investigation and hopefully we can file the charges against the suspects,” he said.
Guisinga said the victim’s family has been very cooperative, providing the police information about possible motive and identities of the pepetrators, which “We are now validating.”

The victim, who was wounded on her shoulder, was in stable condition and moved by her family to an undisclosed hospital. # # #

28/10/2021

BORACAY OF THE SOUTH REOPENS TO TOURISTS

GLAN, Sarangani – The famed “Boracay of the South” has reopened to fully vaccinated tourists who may enjoy the white-sand beaches along Gumasa in this heritage town.

Rhoa Wadingan, Glan tourism officer, said on Thursday the local government has decided to reopen the town’s beach resorts and facilities to tourists, especially those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The decision to reopen the beach resorts is aimed at helping the tourism industry in the town to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
“This is an incentive to those who are already vaccinated and hopefully will encourage others to also get the vaccines,” Wadingan said.

Glan Mayor Vivien Yap earlier ordered that visitors need to present their confirmed bookings with a resort and register with the town’s contact tracing application Data Vault for Your Covid-19 Assistance Response Emergency System or “DVY Cares.”
Wadingan clarified that unvaccinated tourists are also welcome to visit, provided they can present negative Covid-19 antigen test results.

The municipal government shut down 35 beach resorts and hotels in the town in June this year following a noted surge in Covid-19 cases and reopened the facilities a month later only to tourists from Soccsksargen region.

Wadingan said the number of tourists visiting the town has been increasing since August and they expect a further rise in arrivals as cases of Covid19 infections are on a decline.

The number of visitors in Sarangani province grew from 24,139 last August to 44,307 in September.
“Majority of our resort workers are already fully vaccinated and we hope that this will encourage more tourists to come,” he said.

With the powdery white-sand along the beach in Gumasa, this town was considered one of the top tourist destinations in Soccsksargen before the pandemic.

The famed biggest beach party in Mindanao - Sarangani Bay Festival, a three-day annual beach party was last hosted by the town in 2019. It has been drawing over 100,000 tourists from various parts of the country.

Aside from its white beaches, Glan, which celebrated its centennial year in 2014, also offers a glimpse of its historic past through its well-preserved century-old ancestral houses. /Richel Gubalani

23/10/2021

WHO MUST PAY FOR COVID19 TESTING OF DETAINEES?

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Who foots the bill when it comes to Covid19 testing of police detainees, the local health office or the police office that took custody of detainees?

Even police officers are in quandary on this matter after a group of detainees who were to be committed to the City Jail were seemingly given the run around on where they can get the test.
The incident made it obvious that police detainees appear to be of least concern by authorities, lamented a relative of a detainee.

Police Lieutenant Clarizel Perez, spokesperson of the General Santos City Police Office (GSCPO) said on Friday, October 23, a detainee has to be tested and yield negative result before he or she can be committed to the City Jail.

Perez, however, admitted they do not have the budget for their testing.

Police stations have to seek the help of the local health office in order to test detainees who are to be committed to the City Jail being run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The General Santos City Jail requires that before detainees can be admitted to the facility, they must present a negative result of a Covid19 test and a complete medical examination report.

The requirement was an offshoot of an incident in May, this year, when 52 prisoners were infected by a detainee who was committed to the jail. “We do not want that to happen again,” said city jail warden Supt. Metz Milton Placencia.

The situation, however, became contributory to the congestion of lock-up cells in police stations in the city as often than not there were not enough test kits to determine if a detainee can be committed to the City Jail or not.

Dr. Lalaine Calonzo, assistant department head at the City Health Office here said they give priority in testing the direct contacts of Covid19-infected residents, locally stranded individuals and returning Overseas Filipino Workers.

She, however, said that while detainees are not included in their priority list, they usually cater to their needs when there is a request from the police station to test inmates due to be committed to the City Jail.

“We usually accommodate the detainees when there is enough supply of antigen test kits,” Calonzo said in an interview over local radio station Brigada News FM.

Since last week, detention cells in various police stations in this city were filled to the brim after detainees failed to get tested, apparently because of inadequate supply of antigen test kits.
At the Bula police station, the lock up cell was designed for 15 detainees is now cramped with 30 detainees.

Calonzo said the police should have included the testing funds in their budget. “If they have anticipated that, sana isinama na nila sa kanilang budget proposal for 2021 but hopefully naisama na nila sa budget ng 2022, because kung titingnan natin they have their own health services division, they have their doctors and nurses,” Calonzo said.
The local police spokesperson, on the other hand, said their health services is only for personnel and their families.

“Ang GSCPO kay walay facilities and budget under gihapon ta sa LGU, kaya ga-request ta ani sa LGU para sa atong mga detainees,” Perez said.
The process can be delayed at times when the requirements are not met, like what happened on Friday when a group of 15 detainees have to be returned to their lock-up cell because results of their X-Ray examination cannot be released yet and their antigen test negative result was about to lapse.

“We will try again some other time,” said a seemingly frustrated police major Ananias Vasquez, chief f Police Station 5 (Tambler) here. The police official said he will have to make a manifestation before the court why they failed to commit the detainees to the City Jail as ordered.

In a statement, the Commission in Human Rights said overcrowding and “unsatisfactory” healthcare services in detention centers make incarcerated people among those most at risk of contracting the coronavirus. It also noted higher rates of comorbidities among prison populations, especially elderly inmates. # # #

23/10/2021

21/10/2021

COPS SEIZE P5M WORTH OF SHABU FROM MAGUINDANAO MAYORAL ASPIRANT

A town mayoral aspirant in Maguindanao on Thursday, October 21, fell into the hands of anti-narcotics operatives while in alleged possession of five-million pesos worth of prohibited drugs.

Police Lt. Col. Rolly Oranza, chief of police of Midsayap town, Cotabato, named the suspect as Tom Nandang, who is also known as Datukon Nandang, 52.

Nandang has filed his certificate of candidacy for mayor of Northern Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, a town adjacent to Midsayap.

Nandang was arrested at a house in Barangay Upper Glad in Midsayap early morning on Thursday by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency backed by Midsayap policemen and Army soldiers from the 34th Infantry Battalion.

The authorities seized ten sachets of suspected shabu (m**h) estimated to be worth five million pesos and a .45 caliber pistol that reportedly belong to the mayoral wannabe.

Oranza, seeing the number of agents, policemen and soldiers surrounding his house, did not offer resistance when arrested.

The mayoral aspirant denied being into drugs.

He said Nandang will be charged for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and RA 10591 Comprehensive Fi****ms and Ammunition Regulation Act. # # #

21/10/2021

MINORS TO WAIT UNTIL HALF OF SENIORS GET JABS IN REGION 12

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Soccsksargen health officials said they cannot proceed to inoculate minors yet with the region posting a low turnout of senior citizens getting anti-Covid19 jabs.

We have to vaccinate at least 50 percent of qualified elderly population against Covid-19 before we can start the vaccine rollout for the pediatric group or those aged 12 to 17 years old, said Dr. Edvir Jane Montañer, immunization manager of the Department of Health (DOH) in Soccsksargen.

“We don’t have any problem with the vaccine supply right now, it’s how to give them to our residents,” she said.

She said that as of Wednesday, October 20, the numbers of elderly getting jabbed is still way below target in the region.

Soccsksargen has 314,465 eligible elderly population, but only 128,153 or about 41 percent have been fully vaccinated so far under the A2 (eldery) category.

The National Vaccine Operations Center (NVOC) requires that the majority of the elderly population must be vaccinated first before they can proceed with the vaccination of the younger population.

She said in a report that they need to reach at least 50 percent of target in the elderly population first before proceeding to inoculate the minors or 12 to 17 years old.

Montaner said they already urged local government units to help spread the word about the importance of vaccination.

In this city, the local government fielded a mobile vaccination facility in the hope to get essential workers and residents who are hesitant to get vaccinated.

City Health Office chief Dr. Rochelle Oco told reporters they have allotted at least 500 vaccination slots in each sortie of the “Bakuna Bus" that will visit areas with many unvaccinated residents.

On Wednesday, the retro-fitted Bakuna Bus was deployed at the City Central Public Market, where they were able to inoculate market vendors, market goers, public utility drivers and workers. The bus makes rounds every Wednesday and Saturday.

Aside from public markets, the “bakuna bus” will make stops in public terminals and communities with a high number of unvaccinated residents.

Oco said those hesitant to get the vaccine will no longer have reason not to get jabbed.

DOH said there are around 2,054 individuals being vaccinated in this city, way below the 4,446 set by the department to achieve their target by the end of the year.

As of Oct. 18, at least 110,449 residents already got full dosage of the vaccines, while 145,462 are waiting for their second doses.

The local government in General Santos hopes to inoculate a total of 409,732 residents, which is 70 percent of its adult population of around 585,000. According to the May 2020 census, this city has a population of 697,315.

As of Oct. 19, she said a total of 1,287,506 residents in Soccsksargen, including Cotabato City, have been fully vaccinated, including those that received only the first dose.

DOH hopes to inoculate 3,523,867 or 70 percent of the adult residents in the region by year end to achieve herd immunity. # # #

19/10/2021

MOVE CITES NEED TO EMPOWER BARANGAYS

Barangays, the smallest unit of government, must plan and implement their own development projects, an official in General Santos City noted.

There is now a locally initiated mechanism that will help institutionalize barangays to plan and implement their own development projects, said City Engineer Emerald Signar on October 19.

The city official said they already made continuous efforts to give barangay officials and their staff the ability to know how to properly handle the implementation of infrastructure projects in their communities.

The move is embodied through a City Development Council (CDC) resolution following consultations that began since 2018 to help fast tract the implementation of local government projects.

Taking cue from a similar move by the local government of Koronadal City, Signar said officials in that city allowed barangays to implement their own projects.

Signar said they want a similar initiative in General Santos through a policy proposal submitted to the CDC’s infrastructure development committee, which was adopted by the council in a resolution.

Under such mechanism, development projects are to be managed by the barangays, formulating the needed plan, program of work, documentation as well as initiate biddings. The barangays may also hire professionals like civil engineers and architects.

He said there are so far three barangays -- Bula, Calumpang, and Olympog -- that came up with their own projects, but still require their help.

Recently, some national lawmakers raised the idea of empowering the barangays to give them the opportunity to effectively address much needed projects in their respective places.

Senator Panfilo Lacson has expressed favor in giving the small government units increased participation in the development of projects.

Lacson pointed out the need to put focus on budget reform to empower even the smallest of villages.

The senator noted that far-flung villages are often left in the dust because of the huge disconnect between the LGUs and the national budget.

Planning and funding should be from the bottom up, not top to bottom.

Apart from empowering the villages, Lacson says a budget reform will help alleviate the country’s budget deficit, which will then help pay the government debt currently at P11.6 trillion. # # #

19/10/2021

PHILHEALTH SET TO PAY GENSAN HOSPITAL CLAIMS

An official of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) said they are currently processing the 320 million pesos needed to settle by end of month pending reimbursement claims of private hospitals in General Santos City.

Nol Valila of the local PhilHealth Local Office said on Tuesday they hope to meet on time what they agreed with hospital administrators which involved around 7,200 claims.

The 320-million pesos is part of the 437-million pesos worth of claims with complete documentation or considered "good claims" submitted by the hospitals in Region 12.

He said they are already to prepared to release within the week 49 million pesos worth of claims to local hospitals.

The move of Philhealth came after eight private hospitals in General Santos decried the long delay in the payment of their claims that has ballooned to 834,532,820.98 pesos as of August, this year.

Dr. Renato Diagan, president of the local chapter of the Private Hospital Association of the Philippines, said on October 14 that Philhealth officials already had a dialogue with them and promised to settle the claims on or before October 31.

If Philhealth fails to keep its promise, Diagan said all the hospital administrators agreed to withdraw their Philhealth accreditation. When this happen, it will be the patients that will settle their bills and be the ones who will personally reimburse these with the agency.

General Santos City hospitals are close to financial exhaustion with the mounting unpaid Philhealth claims and soaring cost of hospital operations, he said.

The hospitals include the Auguis Clinic and Hospital, General Santos Medical Center, Socsargen County Hospital, General Santos City Doctor’s Hospital, Mindanao Medical Center, Sarangani Bay Specialists Medical Center Inc., St. Elizabeth Hospital Inc., and Diagan Cooperative Hospital. # # #