The criminal complaint for graft and malversation, aside from an administrative charge, filed before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) against several incumbent and former officials of the Department of Health (DOH) has been amended to include Officer-in-Charge Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergerie.
The amended complaint-affidavit was filed by Dr. Clarito U. Cairo Jr., a DOH medical officer and medical specialist, and received by the OMB last Monday, Feb. 13.
Cairo’s original complaint filed late in 2022 named as respondents Undersecretary Berverly Lorraine Ho, Director IV Razel Nikka M. Hao, Director IV Anthony B. Cu, Dr. Kim Patrick S. Tejano; Dr. Jan Auro Laurelle V. Llevado; and former Director IV Anna Melissa S. Guerrero.
The original and the amended complaint named them as respondents in the alleged mismanagement of the P786 million allotted in 2022 for cancer patients under the Cancer Supportive-Palliative Medicines Access Program (CSPMAP).
Cairo Jr., program manager of the DOH's Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (DPCB), accused the respondent officials for their "haphazard" restructuring of DOH-DPCB Reorganization Phase 1 on April 30, 2021, followed by Phase II on Nov. 27, 2021.
"It is not explicitly stated in the Republic Act No. 11223 (Universal Health Care Act) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) that the DPCB should be restructured or reorganized," he said in the complaint.
Under the DPCB Reorganization, Cairo said he was excluded from the roles and responsibilities in the procurement of medicines for the CSPMAP enrollees.
Cairo accused the respondents for their "blatant disregard for technical expertise and institutional memory."
At the same time, he said that the sub-allotment of CSPMAP funds to selected access sites is highly disadvantageous to the government, and "a grave disservice" to many CSPMAP-enrolled patients.
"Had pooled procurement been used for the 2022 cancer medicines, many CSPMAP-enrolled patients in 2021 across 31 access sites would have continued their necessary treatment and the budget hike in 2022 would have resulted in further expansion of the access sites, hence greater number of beneficiaries, from 25,253 patients in 2021 to 26,200 target patients in 2022," he alleged.
Aside from graft and malversation, Cairo wants to hold the respondents liable for grave misconduct for their "dubious decisions" in the sub-allotment of CSPMAP funds which is highly disadvantageous to the government and the cancer patients from the 11 access sites that were "unreasonably excluded."
TAGS: #Ombudsman #DOH #OIC Vergerie #Cancer patients