Roque apologizes after sweeping corruption raps against PhilHealth
Published Jun 18, 2020 12:00 am
By Genalyn Kabiling
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Thursday apologized to honest Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) personnel if they are unnecessarily dragged in his corruption allegations in the state-owned firm.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque
(Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN) Roque said he believes majority of PhiHealth employees have integrity while only a few are allegedly involved in irregularities. “I’m sorry po to the honest-to-goodness, matitinong tao po na nagtatrabaho sa PhilHealth. In fairness, napakadaming matitino po diyan, halos lahat matitino, mayroon lang talagang mga bugok (I'm sorry to the honest-to-goodness, upright people working in PhilHealth. In fairness, there are many honest people there, almost all are upright. But some are really rotten),” he said during a Palace press briefing. Roque also said he intends to make public the names of the “senior executives” allegedly involved in corruption in PhilHealth. He noted that he previously filed a complaint against some PhilHealth officials over their alleged inaction in the issuance of fake receipts to overseas Filipino workers. “Mayroon pa po tayong hinahanda at ilalagay po natin ang lahat ng mga pangalan ng mga senior executives sa tingin namin ay talagang responsible sa mga korapsiyon diyan sa PhilHealth (We are preparing and we will put all the names of the senior executives we believe are really responsible for the corruption in PhilHealth),” he said. The Palace official made the statement after a group of PhilHealth workers reportedly appealed against the sweeping allegations of corruption in the agency. The employees have reportedly asked Roque to reveal the names of the suspected corrupt officials and file the appropriate charges. Roque had earlier called out PhillHealth president Ricardo Morales over his alleged inaction in probing the corruption controversies in the state firm. He said Morales has yet to hold accountable those implicated in alleged fund anomalies in PhilHealth. He said he plans to expose another anomaly in the PhilHealth, saying the company was losing billions of money due to corruption. In his press conference Thursday, Roque said Morales has an obligation to conduct an administrative probe on suspected corrupt officials in PhilHealth despite the pending complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque(Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN) Roque said he believes majority of PhiHealth employees have integrity while only a few are allegedly involved in irregularities. “I’m sorry po to the honest-to-goodness, matitinong tao po na nagtatrabaho sa PhilHealth. In fairness, napakadaming matitino po diyan, halos lahat matitino, mayroon lang talagang mga bugok (I'm sorry to the honest-to-goodness, upright people working in PhilHealth. In fairness, there are many honest people there, almost all are upright. But some are really rotten),” he said during a Palace press briefing. Roque also said he intends to make public the names of the “senior executives” allegedly involved in corruption in PhilHealth. He noted that he previously filed a complaint against some PhilHealth officials over their alleged inaction in the issuance of fake receipts to overseas Filipino workers. “Mayroon pa po tayong hinahanda at ilalagay po natin ang lahat ng mga pangalan ng mga senior executives sa tingin namin ay talagang responsible sa mga korapsiyon diyan sa PhilHealth (We are preparing and we will put all the names of the senior executives we believe are really responsible for the corruption in PhilHealth),” he said. The Palace official made the statement after a group of PhilHealth workers reportedly appealed against the sweeping allegations of corruption in the agency. The employees have reportedly asked Roque to reveal the names of the suspected corrupt officials and file the appropriate charges. Roque had earlier called out PhillHealth president Ricardo Morales over his alleged inaction in probing the corruption controversies in the state firm. He said Morales has yet to hold accountable those implicated in alleged fund anomalies in PhilHealth. He said he plans to expose another anomaly in the PhilHealth, saying the company was losing billions of money due to corruption. In his press conference Thursday, Roque said Morales has an obligation to conduct an administrative probe on suspected corrupt officials in PhilHealth despite the pending complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman.