A House leader on Friday has pressed the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to file appropriate charges against local chief executives who will refuse to honor a memorandum of agreement on donated ambulances.
During the budget hearing, Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, the panel’s chairperson, said that instead of taking back its ambulances from local governments, “the PSCO should seek the prosecution of the local chief executives of the towns, cities, or provinces who for one reason or another neglect their memorandum of agreement [MOA].”
“File the appropriate charges against them,” Nograles told PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan who was attending the budget deliberations for the agency.
Nograles was referring to the PCSO’s ambulance donation program, which was raised by some lawmakers in the hearing.
Balutan told the committee he was aware of the common complaints regarding the misuse of the donated ambulances, which include forcing patients to shell out money for fuel and adding various markings or designs on the vehicle’s body.
“Your honor, kung mayroon accumulation ng reports na ganyan, we will pull out yung mga ambulansya,” said Balutan, former director general of the Bureau of Corrections and vice commander of the Philippine Navy.
“Sinusulatan po namin yung mga mayors na kapag may magreklamo at mag-accumulate ito, that will be a ground, inillalagay po namin sa MOA, sa aming kontrata, na kapag may nakita kaming ganun, we can pull out,” Balutan said.
But Nograles said Balutan’s reasoning was akin to jailing thousands of innocent people while the lone guilty individual remains scot-free.
“Pulling out these ambulances would be a huge injustice, especially the ‘probinsyanos’ and the poor who rely on these services provided by the governement, through the PCSO,” Nograles said.
“We thank the PCSO for these donated vehicles. They serve their purpose generally speaking.. It is just very unfortunate that sometimes, the patients themselves are told to produce gas money in exchange for the service. Worse, local officials use the ambulances for personal transport,” he added.
Nograles said the best course of action against LGUs that refuse to honor the MOA would be to charge its officials for violation of the contract.
“That way, none of our sick kababayans would suffer and at the same time these erring local executives would face the music. Alagaan naman po sana nila ang mga ambulansyang ito,” he stressed.
Before the PCSO donates an ambulance to an LGU, the latter must first show under the MOA that it is capable of maintaining the vehicle as well as provide a driver and fuel for its operations.
The main purpose of the PCSO is to raise funds for the rollout of health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character.
It bared during the budget briefing that the popular Lotto game is still its main source of income, although Small Town Lottery (STL) is slowly picking up.