The word war between the cities of Taguig and Makati resumed Sunday after the latter decried the “unreasonable rejection” by the former of proposed agreements on the transfer of public health facilities and services in villages affected by the Supreme Court decision awarding several areas to Taguig.
In a statement, Makati City Administrator Claro Certeza said the proposed memorandums of agreement pertain to eight barangay health centers and the health data of their patients and Ospital ng Makati.
“We have initiated a series of correspondence and MOA proposals to the City of Taguig aimed to facilitate the smooth transfer of Makati-owned health facilities to its jurisdiction. However, these have been rejected outright, without valid reason. Unfortunately, Taguig seems adamant about taking over our hospital and health centers without acknowledging our ownership rights,” Certeza said.
He said Mayor Abby Binay, in a letter to Mayor Lani Cayetano, proposed a MOA for the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak), which contains an offer extending a substantial credit line to Taguig.
The credit line will ensure that affected residents can continue to access health care services at the hospital.
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Certeza said as stated in the draft MOA, the credit line shall “function as a financial safety net, enabling Taguig City to provide essential health care services to its residents without immediate upfront payments.
“Makati is even willing to allocate millions in funding for this credit line to Taguig to avoid any disruption in health care services. Yet, Mayor Cayetano refused to even consider the proposal, opting to put off any discussions regarding OsMak, purportedly in deference to the wishes of the Health Secretary,” he said.
Cayetano stated in her letter that Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa will take the lead in any discussions regarding Ospital ng Makati, and that both cities must defer to his wishes.
In another letter to Cayetano, Binay offered Taguig the option to lease or to purchase the land and improvement of eight health centers, subject to the appraisal of the Commission on Audit (COA). Cayetano has declined the offer, again citing a supposed directive from the Health Secretary to “exclude the issue of ownership in the transition process.”
“Makati is willing to let Taguig use its properties without asking them for immediate payment. We are, in fact, deferring to COA to determine the reasonable amount to be charged,” Certeza said.
He said Taguig also rejected the proposed data sharing agreement offered by Makati, which aims to safeguard the privacy and sensitive information of previous and existing patients of the eight health centers. These are the health centers of Cembo, Comembo, East Rembo, Pembo, Pitogo, Rizal, South Cembo and West Rembo.
“Makati is going out of its way to work out a smooth transition with Taguig, but it is apparently hell-bent on taking over and gaining control of city-owned public facilities without due process. It persists in unduly invoking the Supreme Court decision while refusing to obtain a writ of execution from the court of origin,” Certeza said.
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