YOUTH group Anakbayan along with PhilHealth members today called on the Commission on Elections to disqualify Liberal Party senatorial bet Risa Hontiveros for allegedly using government funds for her campaign.
Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo said PhilHealth members sent photos posted by supporters of Hontiveros themselves which showed her campaign distributing PhilHealth IDs in exchange of votes.
One of the photos of her supporters posted on Facebook had a caption saying “PhilHealth MDRs and IDs distribution and registration with Risa Hontiveros and Akbayan Party-list.” The post was dated Feb. 11, which covered the campaign period.
“This is an illegal act. It is clearly vote-buying and using gov’t resources for personal gain,” said Crisostomo citing Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, which prohibits vote buying and use of public funds for an election campaign.
He said Hontiveros likewise used the funds of PhilHealth for pre-campaign in bus ads, TV ads radio ads. Each 30-second TV ad costs more than P800,000.
“Hontiveros has no background in health care, she was obviously appointed last-minute in PhilHealth just to use the agency as platform for her campaign. This is despicable, knowing fully well that many Filipinos are deprived of funds for proper healthcare, here we have a PhilHealth chief spending millions of pesos for her personal gain. Many PhilHealth members are appalled,” he said.
He said Hontiveros’party Akbayan is also using their positions in government as platform for campaign. Among the Akbayan leaders in government are Joel Rocamora, Ronald Llamas while Akbayan Rep. Barry Guittierez is Mar Roxas spokesman.
The donors of Hontiveros and Akbayan in 2010 include Kris Aquino, Ballsy Aquino which amounted a whopping P112 million.
“Akbayan and Hontiveros while pretending to be activist, is clearly a corrupt party. They should be junked. Comelec shoud disqualify Hontiveros,” he said.
Earlier, another group, the National Association of Lawyers for Justice and Peace, challenged Hontiveros to prove that the agency has not been spending for her senatorial campaign.
NALJP founding chairman Atty. Jesus Santos also urged Hontiveros to come out once and for all with what she actually did on the unauthorized P1-billion-plus bonuses which PhilHealth had paid to its officials and staff in 2013 despite notices from the Commission on Audit.
Santos pointed out that it was not Hontiveros’ job as a board member to appear as image model in PhilHealth commercials on the activities of the agency.
“The funny thing is the commercials of Ms. Hontiveros started before she was named as a senatorial bet of the Administration. So why did it have to be her? Surely, PhilHealth has other equally talented personnel who could have done what Ms. Hontiveros did.
“Another thing, was Ms Hontiveros’ commercials legal, or duly-authorized? And how much are we talking about,” Santos said.
Santos added that Hontiveros should also prove that she has quit from PhilHealth as provided for by law and thus no longer enjoys any support from the agency.
“Ms. Hontiveros is likewise silent up to now on the unauthorized bonuses. The people have the right to know how she handled the issue. Did she opposed it, how? Did she return what she received,” Santos said.