President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday has asked for the resignation of embattled Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) chief Ricardo Morales because of his health condition.
Morales, who is facing allegations of corruption in the agency, is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes in February.
"The President took note last night of Morales' on-and-off health situation, and stated that it would be best for the latter and for PhilHealth to give up his post during these critical times for the agency,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a text message.
According to Guevarra, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea already spoke with Morales, who in turn said "he would understand if he had to be replaced."
Duterte on Tuesday vowed to go after PhilHealth officials involved in the alleged corruption and anomalies within the state insurance firm, adding he himself would endorse the cases against them.
In a taped public address aired Tuesday, Duterte said he would dedicate the remaining two years of his term to put corrupt PhilHealth officials to jail.
“One of the few things that I can do in the remaining two years of my term. I’ll spend my last two years to work on the cases of people who are involved in the PhilHealth anomalies,” he added.
“I assure you I will be the one to endorse the case to the prosecuting office. I will sign it. If we have (gone) through with the investigation, allow the Secretary of Justice to complete his investigation and his signature on the endorsement will be accompanied by my signature,” Duterte said.
In the Senate, the Blue Ribbon committee recommended the immediate removal and the filing of graft and corruption charges against several regional executives of Philhealth, called as “mafia” by committee chair Sen. Richard Gordon.
The senator said the Ombudsman should conduct an investigation as to the possibility of filing plunder charges against the officers responsible in Philhealth.
He stressed there was—with the participation of many officers, collectively or singly in the pillaging of Philhealth—an urgent need to determine whether or not plunder could be filed against perpetrators of these crimes.
Meanwhile the National Bureau of Investigation said some P114 million in premium contributions from a professional services company were allegedly diverted to various bank accounts instead of PhilHealth back in 2011.
This was revealed on Tuesday during the continuation of the House joint panel inquiry into the alleged irregularities at PhilHealth.
During the hearing, Surigao Del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers brought up the financial settlement among PhilHealth, Accenture, Citibank, and Metrobank, which came after premium contributions from Accenture were supposedly diverted to a Metrobank branch in Batangas.
Atty. Minerva Retanal of the NBI Anti-Fraud Division, who took up the case, confirmed that PhilHealth indeed did not receive the payments from Accenture, although it appeared in their IT system.
"It appears that the payment of member corporation, in this case Accenture, were diverted and that a possible intrusion in PhilHealth's IT system was made as cover-up," she said.
Duterte had ordered the Department of Justice to form an inter-agency task force to investigate the corruption allegations against some PhilHealth officials.
The Chief executive even told Philhealth to publish all procurement transactions in the newspapers, including its purchase of paper clips.
“In view of the public uproar over the PhilHealth issue, even the paper clip must be published and identify the bidder and the supplier of the paper clip. Even one, published it in the newspaper so it can be read,” Duterte said.
Duterte said government agencies would be required to publish in newspapers the details of their procurement related to the COVID-19 response.
PhilHealth is currently facing separate corruption investigations over the allegedly questionable release of funds through its Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) as well as the planned procurement of “grossly overpriced” IT equipment, among others.
During a Senate hearing last August 4, a resigned PhilHealth anti-fraud officer also alleged that a mafia-like syndicate has various schemes, including the release of funds through the IRM.
The Senate is recommending the filing of appropriate charges, including malversation, against PhilHealth chief Morales and other high-ranking officials over the alleged irregularities.
Guevarra, serving as chair of the task force investigating PhilHealth, told Duterte the results of the initial investigation found that the legal department of the corrupt-ridden state corporation was “one of the biggest sources of fraudulent activities”.
Guevarra, who was with Duterte in Davao City on Monday night, also noted that the Office of the Ombudsman had ordered the preventive suspension of 13 PhilHealth officials even prior to the creation of the task force.
On August 7, Duterte ordered Guevarra to lead the task force mandated to conduct an investigation into the supposedly widespread corruption within PhilHealth.
The task force has been given 30 days to conclude its investigation and submit its findings and recommendations to Duterte’s office.
On August 19, Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo filed House Bill 7429 or the proposed Social Health Insurance Crisis Act, which allows the President to revamp the PhilHealth’s executive leadership by privatizing any or all segments of the agency, if necessary, to make it more effective to address the social health crisis.
Under HB 7429, the President has the authority to abolish or create offices, transfer functions, institute drastic cost-cutting, and take other measures to reorganize PhilHealth.
However, Malacañang on August 20 thumbed down the proposal, stressing that the proposed privatization of PhilHealth would defeat the agency’s purpose of providing affordable and accessible health care services to needy Filipinos.
At the same time, the task force looking into allegations of corruption in PhilHealth has recommended the creation of a committee that will manage the state insurer while investigations are underway.
The Blue Ribbon investigated the alleged fraud within PhilHealth in 2019. Gordon came out with the report a year after it investigated alleged corruption within the state insurance company.
In a zoom media briefing, Gordon stressed the real mafia at Philhealth were the vice presidents, the regional directors.
He accused them of allowing millions of overpayments to hospitals in their respective areas.
“No exemption here. All of them…. they all got (their share),” he said.
Gordon identified in his reports the mafia as Paolo Johann Perez, RVP for Mimaropa; lawyer Valerie Anne H. Hollero, assistant corporate secretary; Dennis Adre, RVP for Davao;
William Chavez, RVP for Central Visayas; lawyer Jelbert Galicto, RVP for Caraga; Khaliquzzaman Macabato, regional vice president (RVP) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; Datu Masiding Alonto Jr., RVP for Northern Mindanao and Dr. Miriam Grace Pamonag, RVP for Central Mindanao.
They all denied allegations against them.
These mafia members, most of whom are from the Mindanao group, Gordon said tried to stay in their respective positions for some 20 years to 22 years, they can’t be removed. “Aren’t you wondering why?”
“This is inimical to the corporation as efforts to reform the corporation are often left unimplemented when Philhealth Presidents are relieved of their post before they can even fully undertake such reforms,” stressed Gordon.
He also said the so-called “mafia” also orchestrated the removal of PhilHealth presidents attempting to remove its members from their respective posts.
“They are not being replaced and so they were able to wield massive influence,” he further stated.
The committee report showed that the total of overpayments under the all case rate system of PhilHealth amounted to P54.7 million.
“All these overcharges, overpayments, upscaling, and other nefarious schemes could not have been perpetrated without their cooperation, or, maybe even, principal leadership,” read the Blue Ribbon committee report.
“There existed sufficient safeguards in the system that could have caught these criminal schemes had they performed their jobs faithfully and honestly,” the committee report further stated.