• EDD K. USMAN | X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News

PASIG CITY, May 07, 2025 (SDN) — What comes first, approval as a Level 2 General Hospital, or “operating without approval” from the Department of Health (DOH)?

This question emerged during a press conference Tuesday, May 6, organized with candidates for Pasig City councilor Bobby Hapin and Ram Cruz as resource persons at Calle Preciousa Restaurant here. They are former allies of Mayor Vico Sotto, but they abandoned him last year for what they described as his alleged “broken promises.”

Hapin and Cruz are now running for city councilor as “Independents” on May 12, 2025. The former was an ex-council member (kagawad) of Barangay Manggahan, the latter erstwhile kagawad of Barangay Bambang.

Recall that on November 25, 2024, the two former village councilmen announced their decision to break with and split from the mayor’s camp, whom they joined when he first ran for mayor in 2019.

They said then that they stuck with Sotto for better or for worse, but decided it was time to chart their own political course, saying among the reasons for their action was what they described as promises some of them not fulfilled related to the mayor’s “5 Big Agenda”, such as on Health, Housing, Education, Anti-Corruption, and Consultation.

In their second press conference at the same venue as before, their main topic touched on health issues, as well as the undying issue on the Php9.2 billion Pasig City Hall Campus big ticket project of the mayor.

Hapin and Cruz’s press conferee yestersday concerned the Pasig City Children’s Hospital (PCCH), or Child’s Hope, a specialized medical facility catering to patients from 0 to 18 years old.

Cruz said the City Council of Pasig passed a City Ordinance on December 15, 2015, to convert the PCCH, a Level 2 specialized medical institution, to a Level 2 General Hospital and admit adult patients (from 19 years old and above). The PCCH was also tapped as COVID-19 facility in 2019.

On the other hand, Hapin commended the conversion because the Pasig City General Hospital (PCGH), he said, is already crowded.

“But the problem,” Hapin says, is that what actually happened (on the supposed conversion) is different from what the mayor and some councilors were portraying.

The mayor’s former close allies revealed that they “discovered that for the entire 2023”, patients’ claims that reportedly already ballooned to “Php10 million” were denied by the Philippine Health Corporation (PhilHealth), because according to them, “the conversion was not yet approved (by the DOH).”

To be fair, reporters covering the media event sought the reaction of Sotto through the city’s Public Information Office (PIO) on the allegations of Hapin and Cruz, such as 1. DOH’s reportedly non-approval and on the 2. Php10 million claims that was not granted.

Here’s the response of the PIO’s Krishna Parrera:

“Hi Sir (name of reporter)! Good afternoon po! Maraming salamat for reaching out to us on this. However, di na po mag-engage/react dito si MVS (Mayor Vico Sotto). But (name of newspaper), might want to seek the comment/confirmation of the DOH on this? Sa kanila po ba galing and info na walang approval ‘yung operations? Baka sila po ang in a better position to shed light po sa issue.”

Her response to another reporter:

“Hi, Sir (name of reporter), Sorry po, di na ako naka-update last night. The Mayor will not dignify such claims with a response na po. But maybe the (name of media outfit) would also like to reach out to the Department of Health-MMCHD on the claims of Mr. Hapin and Mr. Cruz. Baka mas sila ang in the better position to confirm/shed light on their claims po. Salamat!”

The latter reporter also messaged his source at the DOH to inquire about the case of Child’s Hope. “Ipa-process ko, Sir,” the source at the DOH says. As of press time, no definite reply was received by the reporter.

Sotto, himself, seemed unaffected by the revelations of his two former allies, brushing off their allegations. The mayor even posted on his social media page a screenshot of the invitation to news media and bloggers as the press conference was ongoing as he had done on two previous press media briefings, which would tend to show he has an informant, possibly from those who covered the three press conferences.

The mayor’s post:

“Day 40 of 45. May pa press con na naman sila… ang cute naman. (laughing  here) Sa 6 years ko bilang mayor nakapag press con lang ako pag invited o kasama national gov’t.

“Ito daw topic nila — ang CONVERSION and EXPANSION of the PCCH (“Child’s Hope”) into a general hospital Pasig Hope Medical Center. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EFsgNt6nM/ – makikita rito kung ano ang kasama sa ₱315M project. Mga documents madali lang din i-google (kaya madali lang din siguro gawan ng kwento ha ha).

“Basta tuloy-tuloy lang po tayo para sa ikabubuti ng ating Lungso! Dire-diretso tayo, mga Pasigueño.”

Hapin and Cruz presented documents that showed City Council Ordinance No. 49, Series of 2023, on the conversion from Level 2 Specialized Hospital to Level 2 General Hospital of Child’s Hope.

Another document they presented is a PhilHealth letter signed by General Manager Dr. Raul R. Tuquero (National Capital Region South Branch) addressed to Child Hope’s Dr. Paulo Roman C. Castro, Jr., about a patient’s claim (name covered in ink).

“We regret to inform you that we are denying payment of the claim for the above-mentioned patient due to the following reason(s):

NOT COMPENSSABLE. NOTE: patient age should be 0 to 18 years old.” (all caps by PhilHealth)

Hapin asks: “What I am wondering about is that based on City Ordinance No. 49, Series of 2022 paragraph 5, it was mentioned there that their application was already approved and issued accordingly a Certificate of Need (dated August 26, 2022, but why was it that PhilHealth DENIED (caps supplied) the hospital’s claims?”

If the DOH did not approve the application, Cruz chimes in, “why does it continue to accept adult patients?”

He said it is sad that while the claims with the PhilHealth were already denied in 2023, he asked why are they still accepting adult patients and issuing bills?

Hapin said Pasigueños who do not know what’s happening will be paying for the claims the PhilHealth denied, saying this amount would be a loss from the city coffers.

Cruz then sent a message to Sotto: “What should come first, operation or approval? Isn’t it that it should be true approval first before operating as general hospital.”

Recently, Cruz said, the DOH inspected Child Hope after which the health agency stopped the processing of PhilHealth claims.

Reporters asked the organizers of the press conference to get a document from Hapin and Cruz of the total of the claims of Child’s Hope which PhilHealth allegedly denied. (/)

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The author

EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (@)

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Sources: Press Conference, Press Release, Pasig City PIO.