By Helen Castano | 10:40 AM September 01, 2026
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — The ambulance involved in the transport of a patient at the center of a social media issue was owned by the local government unit (LGU) and not by Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital (GMPH), Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado clarified.
Aumentado said GMPH does not require patients to pay or provide “patobil” for the use of its ambulances, following online discussions about the referral of a patient who suffered an open skull fracture after being hacked.
According to GMPH, the patient needed to be referred to a tertiary-level hospital after being assessed and stabilized by the attending physician. However, the hospital ambulance was unavailable at the time because it had already transported another patient who had been referred earlier.
Hospital staff then advised the patient’s relatives to coordinate with the Talibon Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) for transportation, as the patient was from Barangay San Agustin in Talibon.
Aumentado stressed that the ambulance involved was an LGU ambulance, not a GMPH ambulance. He said coordinating with local government MDRRM offices for patient transport is an established practice when the hospital ambulance is unavailable.
“As to the LGU’s ‘patobil,’ wala na ko kabalo ana kay LGU concern na man na,” Aumentado said, according to the hospital statement, clarifying that any payment or fuel-related arrangement involving an LGU ambulance is a matter for the concerned local government.
The governor assured the public that GMPH ambulances are provided free of charge and that the provincial hospital continues to accommodate patients seeking medical assistance.
“Rest assured that we, at GMPH, free use of ambulance ta in all cases,” the statement said. “Most of all, naningkamot ming tanan dire maserbisyuan tanan nga muduol nato, ug wala tay balibaran.”
The clarification was issued amid renewed social media discussions questioning the handling of the patient’s referral and the alleged requirement to provide payment for ambulance transport.
