Malolos City—Hundreds of locally stranded individuals and transient residents who were trapped in this capital city due to the quarantine regulations since March are asking Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año to immediately investigate and file charges against erring city officials involved in the anomalous issuance of medical certificates for a fee.
Also complaining are thousands of local workers and employees returning to work who are required to secure a medical certificate from a private laboratory clinic identified as Ma. Trinity Laboratory & X-ray Diagnostic Center, that charges a fee of P400 for CBC (Complete Blood Count) and chest X-ray.
An additional fee of P100 was also imposed by the city government for the issuance of a medical certificate before a Travel Authority (TA) or Return-to-Work Clearance is issued by City Police chief Col. Jacqueline Puapo, according to Cpl. Regi Sabardal, a staff at the City Police processing office.
However, all the supervising chiefs of the city’s seven Rural Health Units here are competent to issue medical certificates for free, including death certificates, considering they are all licensed physicians but were barred by an ‘Order’ centralizing its issuance at the City Health Office.
The mandatory requirement for blood testing and chest X-ray were allegedly upon the directive of Dr. Victor Batanes, the Malolos City Health Officer. These tests are not required by the Department of Health before the issuance of travel or return to work permits. DOH Circular 2020-0206 issued on May 18 emphasized that “testing of all returning workers is not a requirement precedent to his or her return.”
The same DOH circular signed by Sec. Francisco Duque also said that screening of returning workers shall be based on symptoms and/or exposure. Doctors in the seven RHUs Malolos said mere physical appearance, assessment, and thermal scanning would suffice to expedite issuance of medical certificates.
“Walang trabaho at pangkain na lang kulang pa nga, tapos pagbabayarin pa. Dapat nga ayuda at hindi pahirap,” one of the RHU nurses said.
The laboratory, according to a police source, processes an average of 10 to 50 a day during the ECQ, and the volume increased when Bulacan was placed under modified ECQ. A city nurse, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal said the private lab had a monopoly of medical tests during the pandemic and nets some P20,000 daily on a bad day.
As early as May 26, Año has already warned LGUs not to impose fees on passes and clearances considering that all workers in the private sectors have been severely displaced by the lockdown.
Manila Standard learned of an incident two weeks ago where eight stranded construction workers from Atimonan, Quezon were issued a medical certificate by RHU-2 Dr. Minerva Berroya-Santos for free.
However, the police refused to issue them a travel authority after being informed that they need CBC tests and chest x-ray results before they can be issued a medical certificate, and only those signed and issued by Dr. Batanes will be accepted.
Since the workers have no money, the RHU doctor referred them to the city Social Welfare and Development officer who promptly made a case study and certified the indigency of the eight. The city government ended up paying for the P3,200 fee for the workers’ medical certificates.