‘Palit-ulo’ victims receive needed aid

Victims of the “Palit-Ulo” scam received P1 million each in financial aid from Ace Medical Center, months after the scam broke out, where victims were being detained, or their documents were being held due to unpaid medical bills.

On Monday morning, Valenzuela City Mayor Wesley “Wes” Gatchalian, with Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Ted Herbosa, announced the successful collaborative effort between the hospital and the local government to resolve the scam.

“Ace Medical issued financial assistance amounting to P4 million, P1 million per victim, so that we can have a closure and a joyful Christmas,” Gatchalian said.

Four complainants were each given P1 million in financial aid, while another victim finally received her birth certificate after seven years, which had been withheld by the hospital.

Herbosa, meantime, encouraged those patients that cannot afford admittance to a private hospital to ask for PhilHealth beds.

“For private hospitals to operate, we are requiring them to have 10 percent of the total beds as PhilHealth beds, also known as charity beds,” said Herbosa, adding that by asking for charity beds, patients will be transferred to a ward instead of a private room.

One of the victims of the “Palit-Ulo” scam was Cheryluvic Ignacio, 43, who was detained for 19 days at Ace Medical Center after her Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) could not cover all the hospital bills.

“I had Covid-19, my HMO maxed out, and then my hospital bill ballooned,” Ignacio recalled, adding that her hospital bill reached P300,000 and that the experience was traumatic.

“I am the earner of the family, and then I got detained, and it was during Covid-19. I lost access to the outside world,” she added.

Among the four complainants, Nerriza Zafra was detained for the longest time, held in the hospital’s custody from 20 October 2017 to 29 November 2017, after failing to pay her hospital bill.