Lawmaker victimized by syndicate forging guarantee letters

Even a lawmaker was not spared by a syndicate taking advantage of indigent patients in government hospitals. Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez on Wednesday warned the public against forged guarantee letters being offered by some unscrupulous individuals to his hospitalized constituents in exchange for a fee. The lawmaker learned of this after the Philippine Heart Center asked him about a P37,000 worth of medical assistance he supposedly issued to six patients in just two days. “Tumawag ang Heart Center sa bahay namin, tinanong nila yung inisyu ko daw na P10,000 worth of medical assistance sa isang pasyente nila. Nagtaka sila na sa dalawang araw lang ay marami akong inisyu na guarantee letters," he told reporters at a press conference. (I received a call from the Heart Center. They were asking me about the P10,000 worth of medical assistance that I supposedly issued to one of their patients. They were curious because I supposedly issued several guarantee letters in just two days.) Guarantee letters are letters issued by a lawmaker to his or her sick constituents as medical assistance. It is sourced from the lawmaker’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and is presented by the patient to the hospital. Suarez said the forged guarantee letter has a fake letterhead of the House of Representatives, his forged signature, and even a dry seal. “I’m sad and happy. I’m happy na nagamit ng pasyente yung PDAF ko pero I’m sad na ganito na kababa ang ginagawa ng mga criminal, pati yung PDAF ng mga kongresista ay pinapatulan," he said. (I’m happy because a patient benefited from my PDAF, but I’m also sad because congressmen’s PDAF is not spared by criminals.) The guarantee letter was addressed to Dr. Ludgerio Torres, Philippine Heart Center medical director, and was asking him to “extend the necessary medical assistance to [name of the patient], one of my constituents in Quezon. Please deduct the amount of [amount of medical assistance] chargeable to the PDAF." “Mukhang nakakuha ng guarantee letter ko itong mga taong ito at saka ginaya. Malayo yung semblance ng signature ko sa nakalagay dito," Suarez said. (Looks like these people were able to get a sample of my guarantee letter and copied it. My signature there was obviously fake.) Each congressmen are allotted P70 million worth of PDAF every year. Suarez said he gives P5 million of his PDAF to different hospitals, P500,000 of which goes to the Heart Center. The lawmaker was told that the patients were approached by some persons offering financial help from his office in exchange for P1,000. He said he has no intention of stopping the medical assistance for the said patients. He said he will report the incident to the House leadership and the proper authorities and ask them to come up with some measures to prevent the illegal activity from happening again. He said he would also be delivering a privilege speech regarding the issue. “Hindi lang naman ako ang congressman na naglalagay ng pera sa iba’t ibang hospital, halos lahat kami. Baka hindi lang sa Heart Center nangyayari ito," Suarez said. (I’m not the only congressman who puts money on various hospitals. All of us do that. Perhaps this illegal activity is not limited to the Heart Center.) He admitted that his office was lax in issuing guarantee letters. “Ngayon magtatawagan na kami pag may ii-issue na gurantee letter, magkakaroon na rin siguro kami ng control number (Now we are more careful in issuing guarantee letters)," he said. The lawmaker said it was the first time he heard or learned of such modus operandi. - KBK, GMANews.TV