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Thursday, March 28, 2024

PhilHealth’s new chief urges senior execs to quit

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Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president Dante Gierran has asked senior executives of the state health insurer to file their courtesy resignations to ensure a fast reorganization process, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Friday.

“Attorney Gierran knows that he does not have much time. And that’s why I think it was important for him to request all the senior executives to file their courtesy resignations now because that’s the fastest way that he can reorganize,” Roque said in an interview.

Earlier, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who headed Task Force PhilHealth that investigated anomalies in the state insurer, recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte the reorganization of Philhealth.

Roque said the Palace supported the initiative of Gierran, saying “we’re confident that he will have very good information that will guide him on whose resignation to accept and whose resignations to reject.”

“I hope too, that he will be guided by the Senate findings, as well as the findings of Task Force PhilHealth,” the Palace spokesman said.

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Gierran, a lawyer and accountant who formerly headed the National Bureau of Investigation, has been tasked by Duterte to fix the alleged irregularities in the agency within the year.

Roque, one of the authors of the Universal Health Care Law, said he did not agree with privatization of the state insurer, saying privatization went against the very principle of Universal Health Care.

Roque said: “Universal Health Care is distinguished from private health insurance because it is, number one, a discharge of state obligation to promote the right to health; and it is a commitment that although members will have to pay their dues, in reality, the dues will not be enough and the balance will, of course, be paid for by the government.

“And that is why, I think, the concept of privatization is simply antithetical and inconsistent with the concept of Universal Health Care.”

“As author of the Universal Health Care Law, I’ve said it over and over again, my original version was to abolish PhilHealth, replace it with the National Health Service,” he said.

However, Roque said his original version bill was not followed, saying the promised adjustment to be made in the Senate never happened.

“So I think by way of hindsight, all of this could have been avoided if the original version of my bill was followed – simply to abolish PhilHealth and replace it with the National Health Service,” he added.

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