The late former Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Garcia (left) and the late Barili Mayor Marlon Garcia (right)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Garcias said they would be willing to sit with doctors from a private hospital in Cebu City for a ‘dialogue’ but under several conditions.
The hospital must provide the health records of their late brothers, Marlon and Nelson, to the family first, and that their attending physicians should be present in the planned talks.
“We are also open to dialogue but before we go to dialogue with them, as we are demanding for answers and we have a lot of questions, they should not clamp us on the records we are asking,” said Lawyer Winston Garcia, a brother of Marlon and Nelson.
Winston, the former chairperson of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), told reporters in a phone interview on Saturday, September 19, that the hospital apparently refused to provide them the medical records of Marlon and Nelson.
Winston said hospital administrators instead demanded from the Garcias several documents, including death certificates, valid I.D.s, and special power of attorney, to process their request.
“Provide us all the records that we are asking like clinical records, the nurses’ notes — all the records, and all procedures done. Because we wanted to know that after letting us spend almost P9 million our two brothers still died,” he said.
“They were giving all sorts of excuses not to give us the records. If they have nothing to hide, and if they can explain to us why after letting us spend almost P9 million our two brothers died, then give us all the records first, and let’s call the dialogue with those two doctors because we have a lot of questions,” he said.
Winston’s siblings Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Cebu 3rd District Representative Pablo John Garcia, in a press conference last September 17, questioned the medical interventions made on their two brothers Nelson and Marlon.
READ MORE: Garcia family: Were ‘post COVID medical interventions’ on their two brothers appropriate?
Nelson, 61, a former mayor of Dumanjug town, passed away on September 1, while Marlon, 58, the mayor of neighboring Barili town, died five days later or on September 6.
Both the late Garcia brothers tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) before they succumbed due to other medical reasons.
Citing the death certificate of their brothers, the Garcia siblings said Marlon died from “septic shock, secondary to catheter-related bloodstream infection, ventilator-associated pneumonia, while the death of their other brother, Nelson, was due to “cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to probable massive pulmonary embolism.”
Last Friday, September 18, the hospital in question, Chong Hua Hospital, came out and released their official statement, sympathizing with the Garcias, and offering them a ‘dialogue’ as an avenue to address their concerns.
The hospital also defended the two doctors who attended to the late politicians.
READ MORE: Garcias seek answers to ‘doubtful circumstances’ surrounding brothers’ deaths at a private hospital
‘Scandalous fees’
But according to Winston, the hospital expenses billed on Marlon and Nelson were ‘scandalous’.
Among the items Winston said the family questioned was the P800,000 for the personal protective equipment (PPEs) for the medical team.
“It was P800,000 for PPE alone. Grabe kaayo. Sobra na kaayo gyud ba (This is too much). The amount is really scandalous,” Winston said.
He also said they were surprised when they made comparisons of their previous hospital expenses.
“I’m a kidney transplant in a more prominent and prestigious hospital in (Taguig City) last year. I’m staying in an executive suite next to the presidential suite. My medical bill, including my doctor’s fees, was only P2.5 million,” said Winston.
Not doctor shaming
On the other hand, Winston responded to comments from netizens saying that the Garcia family was ‘doctor shaming’ by publicly demanding answers from the physicians and hospital in question.
“My two brothers died after letting us spend almost P9 million. Can we not question the procedures? I think we are entitled with an explanation,” Winston said.
Days after the governor and the congressman expressed their dismay to the public, the Cebu CFI Cooperative, one of the largest cooperatives in Cebu, decided to suspend the accreditation of Chong Hua Hospital.
Winston currently heads the cooperative, which has over 130,000 members.
Succeeding posts from Cebu CFI Cooperative’s Facebook page also divulged the names of the doctors whom Winston accused of manipulating their brothers into taking the expensive medical procedures.
Winston even accused Marlon’s doctor of allegedly threatening Marlon to convince him to agree to an intubation.
CDN Digital opted not to identify the physicians as they had yet to respond to the issue. /dbs