By Chris V. Panganiban
Inquirer Mindanao
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur —A fierce debate over political patronage has erupted inside Surigao del Sur’s premier public hospital, pitting frontline healthcare workers against a lawyer demanding an explicit end to politician-branded medical aid slips.
The dispute centers on Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center (ASTMMC) in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, where lawyer Mary Helen Zafra raised legal concerns over referral forms featuring the portrait and name of 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. The slips instructed the hospital to charge patients’ medical expenses against the lawmaker’s government assistance fund.
Momo claimed he only recently saw the documents, suggesting staff used his picture without his signature, while calling the slips non-binding “recommendations.”
Facing mounting public criticism—along with reports that overflow patients were being accommodated in the hospital chapel due to severe ward congestion—ASTMMC broke its silence on Tuesday. Management insisted that government medical assistance follows standard clinical and eligibility rules, with “no preferential treatment” given to anyone.
Zafra fired back, arguing the hospital’s statement was too soft and failed to make the most crucial point: that patients do not need a politician’s endorsement at all.
“Walay kinahanglan nga padrino. Walay dapat pabor-pabor (There is no need for a political patron. There should be no favoritism),” Zafra said. “Medical assistance is a right for eligible patients—not a political favor… Public service should not be turned into an utang na loob (debt of gratitude) to politicians.”That prompted an emotional defense from hospital staff.
Kim Harry Rodriguez, an ASTMMC employee for nearly a decade, challenged Zafra to take her complaints to the proper legal venues rather than shaming frontline health workers on social media.
Rodriguez stressed that as a national Department of Health facility, the hospital has never rejected anyone for lacking a political endorsement.
“We cater to everyone the best we could,” Rodriguez said, adding that families likely seek politicians’ help on their own even when the hospital does not require it. “It is so unfair for us to be dragged into this… Spare us from shame, we don’t deserve it.”
Under national law, government-funded medical assistance cannot be packaged as political charity—leaving the public caught between official rules and the persistent shadow of local patronage.
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