A mother set to give birth died after alleged delays by two Capitol-run hospitals in Cebu in attending to the patient. Her baby girl died eventually.
The 34-year-old mother was identified as Airies Comaling, a resident of Argao town in south Cebu.
According to her sister-in-law, Comaling was taken to Argao District Hospital on July 21, 2025 when she began having contractions and signs of labor.
However, because of purported delicate situation, Comaling was referred to the Carcar Provincial Hospital on the same date, for a supposed Caesarian operation. But it took over five hours before she was transported to the Carcar Provincial Hospital.
According to her brother-in-law, Ronald Robusto, the delay was because of the condition of an ambulance that required allegedly two patients to be ferried at a time to save on fuel.
Based on the timeline presented by the Cebu Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), Comaling was transferred to the Carcar Provincial Hospital past 7 p.m. on July 21, 2025. However, in the morning, she was referred to another hospital, the Cebu South Medical Center in Talisay City.
Comaling reached the hospital past 11 a.m. but lost her life and the baby girl there.
According to Comaling’s family, they sought the operation even if the procedure would cost them a fortune, citing that the pregnant woman had to endure a heart condition.
The family cries for justice, saying that had medical care been given urgently, the situation could not have led to death.
The Department of Health (DOH) has ordered an investigation on the incident.
Dr. Joshua Brillantes, DOH 7 director, said they will launch a probe on the incident, as to why the provincial hospital in Carcar City failed to perform a Caesarian operation.
Brillantes cited that under Republic Act 8344, hospitals and medical clinics are prohibited from turning down medical treatment for emergency or serious cases.
Governor Pamela Baricuatro has ordered an urgent investigation as well.
The hospitals involved have not issued a statement yet, as of this writing. But based on initial investigation by IPHO, headed by Dr. Mary Ann Arsenal, they found out that the Capitol-run hospitals in Argao and Carcar City are not culpable in the incident.
