ILOILO – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) is set to conduct a tri-committee investigation next week into the controversy surrounding the San Joaquin Mother and Child Hospital located in Barangay Purok 5 (Poblacion), San Joaquin town.
The heir of the land donor of the main building site of the hospital seeks to reclaim the nearly 1,900-square meter lot donated to the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) that used to manage the district hospital.
The investigation will be conducted by the Committee on Health and Sanitation, Committee on Public Order, Security and Justice, and the Committee on Human Rights and Good Government.
In a privilege speech calling for the probe, 1st District’s Provincial Board member Jo Ann Germinanda said the SP should get to the bottom of the following:
* The claim by Vilma Getuya, heir of the lot donor, of holding a deed of donation dated February 2023, asserting the retraction of not more than 1,900 square meters where the hospital is located, claiming it was unused and abandoned.
* The alleged non-action of the San Joaquin police station who should be at the forefront of maintaining peace and order.
* The attempt to take over, control, and occupy a government property.
* The authority of the barangay captain to issue a certificate declaring the site abandoned.
Germinanda warned that this matter, if left unresolved, could adversely affect the hospital’s healthcare services.
The San Joaquin Mother and Child Hospital served as an extension hospital of the WVMC before its operation and management were incorporated under the Hospital Management Office (HMO) of the Iloilo provincial government.
“This property was developed in 1990 with substantial government expenditure, including the DOH (Department of Health) and provincial government. It cannot be taken away easily,” said Germinanda added.
The SP will summon representatives from the following to the tri-committee investigation: Police Regional Office 6, Iloilo Police Provincial Office, San Joaquin police station, DOH, WVMC, the Getuya family, the barangay captain of Purok 5 (Poblacion), San Joaquin, and municipal officials of San Joaquin.
According to the local government unit (LGU) of San Joaquin, the lot donor was the late Joaquin Santacruz, father of one of the heirs, Vilma Getuya.
On May 4, the LGU reported that their personnel were barred from entering the main building by the Getuya family, and on May 6 the family, through their legal counsel Atty. Leo Monserate, sent a revocation of the deed of donation to Dr. Joseph Dean Nicolo, medical center chief II of WVMC, stating that their client (Vilma Getuya) wishes to revoke the deed because the building had been abandoned and was no longer in use after the hospital operations moved to an extension building in Barangay Baybay, about 500 meters away.
On May 18, cyclone wires were erected around the building, and a “no trespassing” tarp was posted at the front of the main building./PN
