Senator Panfilo M. Lacson on Saturday said President Duterte must use an iron hand in dealing with the widespread corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) by putting to jail those held liable.
This would take the place of merely overhauling the state agency by relieving or replacing those involved in the questionable transactions as past cases have shown that those who threatened to resign did not resign at all or those charged sometimes go scot-free or were not charged at all, he said.
As senators prepare to hold a public hearing on the PhilHealth corruption issue by declaring the Senate as the Committee of the Whole this coming week, Lacson wanted to know why Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III did not order an investigation into questionable transactions or reimbursement to hospitals – the issue heatedly debated by PhilHealth board members during a Zoom meeting – as he is the PhilHealth ex-officio chairman and was present during the webinar.
He asked aloud why it took another PhilHealth official to go to President Duterte, through Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, to complain of what is happening at PhilHealth.
Lacson said he himself would ask during the Senate public hearing why Duque did not intervene during the heated discussion.
In past Senate hearings, Lacson had questioned the lease of a Duque property in Pangasinan to PhilHealth and a Duque-owned pharmaceutical firm entering into supply contract with the DOH.
Queried whether Duque is liable for anything, Lacson said the least could be for command responsibility.
Lacson also said he would ask retired Brig. Gen. Ricardo Morales, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer (CEO), why he denied being present during the Zoom meeting when Roque himself stated that he (Morales) was there.
Roque, according to Lacson, had stated that Duque and Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, chairman of the Senate health committee, were at that meeting.
The Malacañang spokesman had said Morales failed to clean up PhilHealth as expected by President Duterte.
Morales, during an interview, had stated that there is no position of “anti-fraud officer” at PhilHealth. He was apparently referring to Thorrson Montes Keith, who had cited three reasons why he was resigning his post as “anti-fraud officer” this month to pursue a doctorate degree, according to Lacson.
Kieth also cited “widespread corruption” as nother reason for resigning.
“At saka di siya pwedeng mawala roon. Siya ang president and CEO of PhilHealth. Ngayon, tatanungin namin siya ano ba totoo, wala siya o naroon siya (He should be there being the president and CEO of PhilHealth. We will ask him point blank: Were you there or not)?” Lacson asked.