Valle chides opposition for misguided legal questions
THE plot thickens after Dagupan City Legal Officer Aurora Valle chided and slammed the opposition at the Sangguniang Panlungsod for raising malicious and misguided questions insinuating that the donation of the 1,200 square meter lot to Department of Health as site of the proposed P150 million Mother and Child Hospital as illegal.
In an interview, Valle scored Councilor Celia Chua-Lim for insisting that the donation was flawed and asked that the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on laws, rules and ordinances to probe the lot donation before the majority councilors give their imprimatur to a resolution authorizing Mayor Fernandez to sign a Memorandum Agreement for the project with the DOH.
Valle pointed out that the land in question is already owned by the DOH, and the Mother and Child Hospital is a project of DOH. “What is there to investigate? “The donated land was clearly not owned by the city government and neither did the city government make the donation and no public funds were used to effect the donation,” she intoned.
She added that the committee cannot even question the motive of the private donor, Kerwin Fernandez, for donating his property to the DOH. “Instead of questioning the donation, the committee should thank Mr. Fernandez for responding to the call of the city government to help find a site for the hospital project.
She said this is not the first time for DOH to accept a donation, so DOH knows there is no irregularity when it accepted the donation from Mr. Fernandez.
“Logical ba yong sinasabi nila (opposition) that the land (for the proposed hospital) came from Mayor Fernandez simply because she arranged for the donation?” she said.
Since the land is already owned by the DOH and the DOH showed proof of this, “who are we to stop the project”?, Valle asked.
In her most fighting statements against the seven majority councilors yet, Valle said: “They are hindering the progress of Dagupan City and this is very, very unfair to the city and people of Dagupan City.”
Councilor Celia Lim also questioned the absence or lack of delicadeza on the part of Mayor Belen’s family for donating the land as site of the proposed MCH, to which Valle retorted “what lack of delicadeza can be invoked when the donor offered to help the city have a free hospital?” (Leonardo Micua)
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