THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas Hospital (USTH) has not renewed its management contract with Summit Ventures after it expired last month.
According to USTH legal representative Arnold Cacho, the contract was not renewed to prove that that the board of regents still has control over the operations of the University hospital. Summit Ventures used to manage the hospital’s day-to-day activities.
Cacho said the partnership with Summit Ventures was an experiment for the hospital. Since it did not work out well, and even placed the tax-exempt status of the hospital under question, he said the board of regents decided to do away with the system.
The board of regents appointed Hernando Veloso as chief of operations, citing his, loyalty and long years of service to the hospital as reasons for his appointment.
Meanwhile, USTH is still having a hard time getting its imported equipment past the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Cacho said. This, despite the resignation of Education Undersecretary Jaime Jacob, the Hospital’s main antagonist in the tax exemption issue.
Cacho said the 30 Durastar stretchers, which were held up by the BoC after the USTH’s tax exemption status was questioned, are being released one piece at a time.
He also said that delay could be the result of reshuffling at the DepEd that followed the appointment of Edilberto de Jesus as education secretary to replace Raul Roco.
“Because the personalities in the DepEd (Department of Education) now are still new to their position, they suggested that why don’t I submit the papers again to them to save time. They don’t know where the old ones put the papers, so to make it easier for them to evaluate this pending request I furnished them a new one, the papers which I previously submitted to Jacob,” Cacho said. Jennifer B. Fortuno
