THE Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital (CDUH) yesterday discharged the infant whose mother earlier filed a writ of habeas corpus to compel the hospital to release her four-month-old baby.

This came after both parties reached a settlement after the hearing on the petition before Judge Bienvenido Saniel of the Regional Trial Court Branch 20 yesterday morning.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Volunteers from the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation assisted Maria Lourdes Farro in transporting her baby from the hospital to their house in Barangay Tejero, Cebu City late yesterday afternoon.

Farro, assisted by lawyer Earl Bonachita, faced off with the CDUH employees and legal counsel Cornelio Mercado in court yesterday.

At the court hearing, Mercado told Saniel that the hospital did not detain the baby despite the fact that his mother incurred about P503,000 in hospital bills.

Mercado said the management did not want to prolong the stay of Farro at the hospital because that would only increase her hospital bills.

It was Farro’s failure to communicate with the management that led to the delay in the discharge of the patient.

CDUH billing supervisor Margie Abellanosa also testified that Farro did not come back when told to return last Nov. 4 to make the final arrangement on her promissory note.

This, despite several calls to Farro’s mobile phone to remind her of her meeting with the management on the unsettled bills, she added.

Saniel said he was made to understand that the core issue was “some kind of misunderstanding” between the patient and the management about the unpaid hospital bill.

But the judge urged the management to make the proper arrangements to discharge the baby. The hospital management immediately agreed to this.

Bonachita told the court that his client agreed to execute a promissory note and assured the management that the latter would not run away from her monetary obligation to the hospital.

Mercado also advised the Integrated Bar of the Philippines lawyers, who are assisting those in need of legal aid, to evaluate first whether the case could be arranged or not.

Mercado lamented that newspaper reports about the case may have given the hospital a bad impression regarding the way it deals with its patients.

“The child was born premature and we have extended help,” said Mercado.

Mercado said a court order may not be necessary for the baby to be discharged from the hospital since both parties already agreed to settle the issue.

But Saniel also reminded Farro not to forget her obligation and to settle her dues to the hospital after her baby would be discharged.

Last week, Farro filed before the RTC a special proceeding for habeas corpus against CDUH after it allegedly refused to release her baby until she settles her hospital bills.

Farro asked the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus, directing the hospital management to release her child without further delay.

Farro said she was admitted in CDUH for pulmonary infection and bleeding.

She prematurely gave birth to her son last July 22.

Because the infant was premature, he was placed in the hospital’s Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit.

Farro told the court she was then discharged on July 24, while her baby remained in the hospital for further treatment.