ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo provincial board has started investigating the ownership of the health facility in San Joaquin town, Iloilo province.
THE original site of the San Joaquin Hospital in San Joaquin town, Iloilo province. The land donor wants to revoke her donation and physically take over the government health facility. (Tara Yap)
A tri-committee hearing on Thursday, June 20, found out that the main building of the San Joaquin Mother and Child Hospital remains to be a government facility.
Board member Jo Ann Basco-Germinanda said facts point out that the family of Vilma Santacruz-Getuya cannot legally declare it as theirs even if they were the original land donors.
Germinanda, who called on for the legislative probe, said Getuya must go to court to revoke the deed of donation.
Getuya, the mother of Vice Mayor Marvigrace Getuya-Lago, is seeking to reclaim the land her family donated to the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC), a hospital managed by the Department of Health (DOH).
Getuya claimed that she has the right to physically possess both the land and the health facility because it has been abandoned in violation of the deed of donation.
According to Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, the hearing unraveled how government officials are still unaware of their duties and responsibilities.
Tensions escalated last June 10 when Getuya tried to block Garin from entering the facility.
No police were seen while the barangay captain argued with Garin and declared the building abandoned and seemingly justified the actions of the Getuya family in placing a “No Entry. Private Property” sign at the hospital premises.
During the hearing, the WVMC clarified that the facility was not abandoned even if majority of hospital services were transferred to another building across the original site.
The building still houses the X-ray machine being used by patients.
The WVMC and the local government unit (LGU) of San Joaquin have earmarked funding to redevelop the main facility.