Dr. Mejia says he’s cleared by BIR, NBI, COA
ON ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH, MALPRACTICES
I HAVE been cleared and I am not guilty of anything.
This was the reaction of Dr. Roland Mejia, chief of the Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC), at a press conference he called last week to issues raised in news reports and opinion column items that were published in The PUNCH in recent weeks.
Mejia argued and explained himself on the complaint of Atty. Cornelia Español, head of the Office of Senior Citizens Association (OSCA), that he did not extend free medical services to senior citizens; on his alleged delay in the liquidation P5 million donation of the Dangerous Drugs Board that led to the delay in the completion of the construction of the Dagupan Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DTRC); on pending and unresolved complaint that led to this alleged suspension; and on his alleged ill-gotten wealth.
In denying Español’s complaint she raised in the open forum with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas at the Dagupan People’s Astrodome recently, Mejia cited Hospital Memorandum No. 2014 77-A he issued to the hospital’s Medical Social Services Patient Action Center Unit directing strict compliance to the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, pointing out that “all Senior Citizens without existing PHilHealth membership shall be enrolled then subjected to the Point of Care Enrollment Program,” and “senior citizens with existing PHIC membership shall enjoy additional 20% discount apart from the automatic 20% Senior Citizens discount.”
He also cited another memorandum directing that persons with disabilities also be given special treatment as provided for in the Magna Carta for the Disabled.
“These documents speak for themselves. The hospital is fully compliant with the Expanded Senior Citizens Act and the Magna Carta for the Disabled,” Mejia said.
Espanol could not be reached at presstime for her immediate reaction who claimed at the forum that she has evidence to prove her complaint.
Mejia said he chose not to respond to Español in the forum because his training at Harvard University told him that one should not react to an issue when confronted in “somebody else’s forum.”
On the P10 million fund given by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) for the DTRC three years ago, Mejia said the amount had long been liquidated, adding that it is the Dagupan City government, not he, that has accountability for the additional P5 million that DDB gave for the DTRC since the amount was not given to him and it was the city government that was the implementing agency for the construction of the After Care Center and a perimeter fence around it.
He flatly denied there was any delay and it is merely a media’s perception. “As far as I am concerned, I don’t see it as a delay. The construction is being done by the contractor, so if ever there was a delay, it is (sic) the contractor who did it.”
“Right now, we do not see who is at fault. We look at it in a positive way. Bilisan na lang yong construction so that they (city government) can turn over the project and liquidate the fund, ” he added.
On his alleged suspension last year, Mejia said there is no pending case against him since the Office of the President already cleared him, “which means that nothing (irregular) happened.” Proof of this, he said, was the clearance of the Commission on Audit allowing him to receive his salary.
On the suggestion that he undergoes a lifestyle check, Mejia claimed the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the National Bureau of Investigation had investigated his activities and did not find anything wrong. He added that he did not receive any “disallowance notice” from COA in all the transactions at R1MC, “all of which are transparent.”
Had the two agencies found anything questionable, he said he would not remain director of R1MC “till today.”
On his reported “luxury” house in Barangay Bolosan, he maintained it is “an old issue” being resurrected because the BIR and NBI that investigated him found no evidence to indicate he amassed ill-gotten wealth.
He also denied owning a “fleet of cars,” pointing to one unit that was “pawned” to him for P150,000” and he is willing to give it up to any interested buyer; he bought his Hummer from a car dealer for P3 million through financing and he amortized it at a monthly installment of P35,000, an amount he could readily pay from his medical practice. This was confirmed by the NBI as well, he reiterated.
He claimed he acquired his other vehicles before he became director of R1MC. (Leonardo Micua)
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