Check, voucher show release of P15, 423 to taped baby’s ma

Baby’s mama  still denies signing for payment, settlement

More documents surfaced yesterday to show that an amicable settlement was reached by parties in the baby-taping controversy last June 27.

The maternity hospital yesterday released  scanned images of a check for P15,423.70 issued to the mother of baby Yohannes and a voucher which carried her signatures, both dated June 27.

The check voucher with the letterhead of the Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity Inc. said the amount was issued as a “Request for financial assistance.”

The mother’s signature appears over her full name “Jasmine Janice Loyola Badocdoc” to show that she  “received” the amount.

Since Monday, Badocdoc and the baby’s father Ryan Noval have been denying that any formal settlement or voluntary desistance was reached by the mother or that financial consideration was accepted.

Faced with a signed copy of the “Settlement of Dispute” which was sent to the Department of Health (DOH) on June 30,  Badocdoc said the signature on the document was not hers.

Yesterday’s release of copies of a check and voucher didn’t change her story.

Unless she files a complaint for falsification or misrepresentation and proves it, government lawyers said the formal settlement filed with the DOH is presumed to be valid and regular.

Again, the  public was left to compare and judge for themselves whether  signatures on  the documents and the three specimen signatures Badocdoc quickly wrote on the spot on a blank sheet of paper at the request of government probers on July 1, were similar or not.

Hospital lawyer Cornelio Mercado earlier said the mother chose to receive the P15,423.78 amount in cash in the board room where the settlement was signed, and later signed at the back of the check to endorse it with several witneses present.

“For the record, money is not the motive why Jasmine entered into an amicable settlement,” stated the settlement. It said the mother’s “request for financial assistance” was granted as a consideration.

The June 27 agreement emphasized that there was “no fault or blame” on the  part of the mother or the hospital in the controversy over the taping of  baby Yohannes’ mouth with adhesive tape in the nursery.

The Bank of Commerce check issued from the hospital’s account showed  Badocdoc’s full name typed in front. Her signature appeared twice in the back as an endorsement.

The check was later presented to the bank for accounting purposes under a credit-debit arrangement on June 30, three days after the

“Settlement of Dispute” was signed, binding both parties not to sue each other in the future.

The check was signed by Florencia Streegan as president  of the hospital’s board of trustees and Dr. Iris Jakosalem, the vice president, who were both present in the settlement deliberation.

The agreement came three days before the June 30 release of the findings of a government inter-agency panel which found the hospital liable for negligence and malpractice in using tape and a pacifier in the baby’s mouth to “quiet” his crying.

WHERE’S VIDEO?
In an interview, Badocdoc challenged the hospital to produce a video or photos to show she signed the settlement.

“I want proof that I signed in their presence. I  want to ask a copy of the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage,” Badocdoc told Cebu Daily News.

She confirmed that she went to the hospital on June 27, but said she was there only to get her son’s certificate of live birth.

She said Elena Jumao-as, the chief nurse, told her not to pass through the main entrance of the hospital  and guided her to the board room, where a hospital staffer brought her the certificate.

Badocdoc said she signed a logbook there and chatted with Jumao-till left the hospital alone  passing the same way to head home.

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Hospital lawyer shows check, signed voucher issued to taped baby’s mother