Medical workers assail Garbo

• ‘Board member meddling with hospital work’

By Joey Pavia

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Doctors and nurses at the Diosdado Macapagal Memorial Hospital (DMMH) assailed First District Board Member Crisostomo “Cris” Garbo for calling several meetings with them shortly after Gov. Lilia “Baby” Pineda was proclaimed winner by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last May.

“Board member Garbo acts as if he is the head of the health committee giving a wrong impression to hospital workers,” they said.
They added that he was accompanied by former acting Provincial Health Officer II and acting DMMH chief Dr. Benjamin Arboleda in the meeting.
“Garbo always calls us in a meeting as if he was head of the committee on health then chaired by Board Member (Edna) David and now by Board Member Mons Laus,” they said.
The DMMH workers alleged that Garbo had expressed interest in the health committee to push for the appointment of Arboleda as PHO II.
“This Arboleda openly campaigned for defeated Gov. Panlilio and now wants to get a juicy post from Pineda through the support of Garbo,” they said.

In an interview last week, Garbo said he had called the meetings as requested by Pineda shortly after she was proclaimed governor.

“Nanay Baby asks me to help her with the hospitals knowing I am a graduate of medicine,” said Garbo.

He stressed that “any board member can ask for a meeting with doctors and nurses for legislative purposes.”

Garbo said he had “no hidden” agenda in calling the meetings and “he simply wants to help the hospital improve their services.”

Garbo also denied asking Pineda to appoint Arboleda as PHO II.

“How can that be when I have no appointing power and no power to convince the governor? Besides, Arboleda has not accepted Pineda’s request for him to head the hospitals as PHO II,” said Garbo.

Garbo said he had qualms if Pineda appoints Provincial Health Officer I, Dr. Eddie Ponio as PHO II.

“Or anyone else for that matter,” he added.

Garbo hinted that Ponio could be the one spreading the rumor about him and Arboleda.

“I have no problem if Ponio will get the post. He was in trouble with Panlilio and not with me,” said Garbo.
A former PHO II, Ponio won a case before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) filed against him by former governor Panlilio and the commission asked the former governor to reinstate him but he failed to follow the CSC order until he left his post on June 30.

Garbo said he and Arboleda are “good friends and there is nothing wrong with that.” They also golf buddies at Clark, it was learned.

Arboleda, for his part, denied that he had campaigned for Panlilio in the recent elections. He added that under rules set by the CSC, they are prohibited to campaign for candidates.
“I am apolitical,” he added.