Daughter breaks silence over Pardo Barangay Captain Litang and partner’s death

Pardo Barangay Captain Litang Abarquez. | Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — There was no hospital in Cebu City and Mandaue City that could accommodate Pardo Barangay Captain Manolita “Litang” Abarquez and her partner, Neneng, when both fell ill on June 5, 2020.

This was the revelation of their daughter, Apple Abarquez, who broke her silence on her parents’ deaths via a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, June 10, 2020, after numerous versions of the incident spread online and reports of their being declined by hospitals were debunked by the government.

Abarquez and Neneng died on June 7, 2020, at a private hospital in Lapu-Lapu City, the only medical facility that allegedly accepted them.

Read: Pardo barangay captain passes away

Both succumbed to severe pneumonia, but it is not clear if their deaths were COVID-19 related.

The Department of Health (DOH) and the city government repeatedly assured the public that the hospitals in the metro were not overwhelmed by the number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID) related or suspected patients.

Yet when Abarquez began to feel weak and found it difficult to breathe on June 5, her family could not find a hospital that would accept her, according to Apple.

https://www.facebook.com/appleabarquez/posts/2954452327924848

She said they went to seven major private hospitals in Cebu City and Mandaue City, but all of them declined for various reasons.

“We couldn’t find an ICU for PUI anywhere no matter where we looked. The answer was always the same, ‘We are full.’, ‘We are understaffed.’, ‘We have pending cases.'” Apple said in her post.

According to Apple, one of the hospitals in Cebu City said that their emergency room could not take in patients as it was undergoing “coding.” Another said they do not admit patients with suspected coronavirus infections.

Two major private hospitals in Mandaue City denied their admission because both claimed they do not also admit possible COVID patients even if Abarquez and Neneng were technically not yet tested for the virus.

Both hospitals referred the village chief to other branches of the hospital, particularly in Cebu City, yet one of the hospitals warned that their Cebu City branch was also at full capacity and they may not be treated as well.

Another hospital in Cebu City was able to check Abarquez because the doctor was a friend, but the room would not be ready until the evening.

A hospital in the city’s center also declined to admit Abarquez because four more patients were waiting ahead of her.

It was the Association of Barangay Council (ABC) in Cebu City who found the hospital in Lapu-Lapu City that would eventually be where the Pardo village chief would pass away.

‘Love that not even death can part’

While Abarquez was fighting for her life at the hospital in Lapu-lapu City, her partner, Neneng, became ill as well and tried two private hospitals in Cebu City where she was also declined.

She eventually followed Abarquez in Lapu-Lapu City. The couple died hours apart in Lapu-Lapu City.

“On Sunday, June 7, at 11:28 AM, my Amam Litang joined our Creator, a few hours later, at 1:36PM, my mama Neneng joined her beloved partner. Theirs is a love that not even death can part,” said their daughter.

Apple said she decided to speak out to put to rest the issues and rumors surrounding her parents’ death, and she urged the public to pray for their eternal repose.

She also urged the public to take care of their health amidst the pandemic because it is “apparent that this pandemic has reached such great heights that accommodation is becoming a scarcity.”

“She gave her life in the name of public service, she was a senior citizen with a high risk of getting sick, but she did not let that stop her from giving her all for her beloved Pardohanons. She loved her community and her constituents and I cannot be prouder. My mama Neneng has always been our guiding star and the light of our home. Now, both their stars are shining in a place that’s far away, looking down on us,” said Apple.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella already ordered for an investigation on the denial of hospitals to the admission of patients such as Abarquez over claimed full capacity.

On June 10, 2020, DOH said that the hospitals are not overwhelmed and only 25 percent of the intensive care units are occupied in Metro Cebu. /bmjo