Although some senators said there was no evidence yet linking Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to the alleged massive corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Senator Imee Marcos said she believes otherwise.
Marcos said that while Senator Panfilo Lacson has bern saying that there is no evidence of Duque’s involvement, she insisted that there is evidence out there.
In a television interview, Marcos cited as possible evidence of Duque’s complicity in the controversy is that PhilHealth’s office in the Ilocos Region is allegedly being housed in a building owned by Duque’s family.
“Here in our place, I am from Ilocos, I’m here, we know the building which was the former hospital of the Duque family. That was the same building rented (by Philhealth),” she said.
She also said that the various companies owned by Duque are into the business of medical supply, medical equipment.
Meanwhile, Seantor Christopher ‘Bong Go’ said that despite the controversy hounding Philhealth, which forced its top officials to resign, the agency’s service to the public should not be hampered especially since the country is battling a deadly pandemic.
Senator Sonny Angara, for his partm, has called for the strengthening of the anti-fraud mechanisms of PhilHealth as part of the ongoing efforts to rid the institution of wastages due to corruption or inefficient systems.
Go said the Duterte Administration continues its efforts to cleanse government of systemic corruption, particularly in PhilHealth.
For his part, Senator Sonny Angara has called for a strengthening of the anti-fraud mechanisms of the PhilHealth as part of the ongoing efforts to rid the institution of wastages due to corruption or inefficient systems.
He recommended to the President that any official iinvolved in anomalies must be preventively suspended to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
He added that individuals found to be responsible for wasting or stealing people’s money should be held accountable.
The NBI’s Task Force – PhilHealth is currently aiding the Task Force led by the Department of Justice in its ongoing investigation. The findings of the probe will be submitted to the inter-agency panel led by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra that will propose legal actions to President Rodrigo Duterte.
Angara has also noted the weaknesses in the firm’s anti-fraud mechanisms.
He said that it is high time for PhilHealth to digitize its records and to utilize systems to validate membership claims just like what is being used by pension funds Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System.
This is part of Angara’s recommendations as contained in a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III as the presiding officer of the Committee of the Whole that recently conducted hearings on the controversies surrounding PhilHealth.
“They (PhilHealth) should likewise look into strengthening their manpower complement by hiring more medical reviewers, anti-fraud officers, data scientists, data analytics personnel, and even experts in artificial intelligence and big data,” Angara said in his letter.
Angara has been pushing for the digitization of both the government and private sector as part of the national digital transformation program to improve efficiency in the delivery of services and prepare the country for the requirements of a rapidly changing world. This is contained in Senate Bill 1470 of the proposed National Digital Transformation Act, which Angara filed last May 4.
In his letter to Sotto, Angara also reiterated his call for PhilHealth to immediately release detailed guidelines on the deferred liquidation of the COVID-19 IRM funds.
He also recommended to amend the Universal Health Care Act to include the mandatory audit of PhilHealth’s finances and to provide copies of the annual report to the Congressional Oversight Committee the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Appropriations.
A comprehensive review on PhilHealth’s implementation of All Case Rates claims payment scheme, including the re-calculation of the top 32 case rates for at least 90 percent of cases or claims filed was also recommended by Angara as part of his inputs to the drafting of the committee report on the hearings.