President Duterte has ordered Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to form a task force that will investigate the alleged widespread corruption at PhilHealth, Malacañang confirmed Friday.
(KING RODRIGUEZ / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after resigned Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), antifraud officer Thorsson Montes Keith alleged that high-ranking PhilHealth officials were able to “steal” ₱15 billion thru fraudulent schemes.
Roque said Duterte has issued a memorandum ordering Guevarra to form a task force to investigate the anomalies at PhilHealth.
The task force will be composed of the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit (COA), the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), the Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP), and other agencies like the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).
Drastic measures needed As this developed, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Friday reiterated his call for the government to pursue drastic measures in cleansing PhilHealth of systemic corruption as members of the state health insurance agency are now starting to lose interest in paying their insurance premiums.
Lacson warned it would be hard for PhilHealth to recuperate from its losses if its members decide to pull out their contributions.
“May nagtatanong, mapu-pullout na ba namin ang premium? Parang hindi yata pwede. Pero ang nakakapangamba, pag nawalan ng gana ang miyembro, baka di na mag-register. Baka mag-opt out (Some are asking, can we pullout our premiums? I don’t think that’s possible. But what is worrisome is when members lose interest, they may no longer register. They might opt out),” Lacson said in an interview over SMNI.
“Lalong mababawasan ang contribution, walang equity. So lalaki ang subsidy ng gobyerno (all the more PhilHealth contribution will be lessened, there’ll be no equity. Government subsidy would have to be bigger),” the senator pointed out.
Preventive suspension Based on Duterte's memorandum, the Department of Justice (DOJ) was given the task as it is the principal law agency of the government and has authority to investigate the commission of crimes and prosecute offenders.
“The DOJ is hereby directed to organize a panel for the conduct of an investigation on the various allegations of corruption and anomalies in the PhilHealth,” Duterte said.
The task force can also conduct an audit of the PhilHealth finances and conduct lifestyle checks on its officials and employees.
The panel may also recommend to the President the imposition of preventive suspension on any PhilHealth official to ensure the unhampered conduct of the investigation.
Recommendations in 30 days Guevarra is required to submit to the Office of the President the task force's findings and recommendations within 30 days of the panel's constitution.
This includes proposed legal actions against officials and employees found responsible for acts of corruption or anomalies at PhilHealth.
According to Roque, the formation of the task force would change the course of the investigation on the alleged corruption in PhilHealth.
“Dati-rati po paulit-ulit na nagiimbestiga ang Kamara at Senado, wala pong nangyayari kasi wala pong kapangyarihan ng preventive suspension. Ngayon po, ang imbestigasyon na ito, kasama na po ang preventive suspension (The Congress has repeatedly investigated PhilHealth but nothing happened because they can't impose the preventive suspension. Now, with this investigation, the preventive suspension is included),” he said.
Roque told the public not to worry as the President is not sitting idly on the issue.
“So, mga kababayan, 'wag po kayong mag-alala, nakinig po ang ating Presidente at umakto (To our people, don't worry, our President listened and acted),” he said.
“Bagama't wala pa pong mapapatunayan sa lalong mabilis na panahon, mayroon naman pong preventive suspension na mapangalagaan ang kaban ng PhilHealth (Even though there won't be an immediate result, there is a preventive suspension that would protect the PhilHealth funds),” he added.
According to Roque, Duterte is already exasperated with the situation, prompting him to form the task force and allowed them to impose preventive suspension on any PhilHealth official.
“Mukhang exasperated na po ang Presidente. Kasi napakadami na pong imbestigasyon ang ginawa ng kamara at ng Senado dito sa PhilHealth pero wala pa rin pong nangyari (It seems the President is already exasperated because Congress has been conducting many investigations on PhilHealth but nothing is happening),” he said.
“Habang nanatili po diyan ang mga naiimbestigahan ay meron din po silang pagkakataon na pakialaman ang mga ebidensya, itago ang mga ebidensya kundi ito sirain (While those who are under investigation are still there, they can interfere with the investigation and hide or destroy evidence),” he added.
“Ang mensahe po sa mga buwaya ng PhilHealth, tapos na po ang maliligayang araw niyo diyan (The message to the crooks in PhilHealth, your days are numbered). Goodbye!” Roque had earlier said that Duterte still has trust and confidence in embattled PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales but said he was waiting for evidence that would prove or disprove his involvement in the alleged corruption activities in the agency.
“The President said he will not fire him unless there's evidence,” he told CNN Philippines Wednesday.
“He (President Duterte) still does (have trust and confidence on him) but he wants to see the evidence. If there's evidence that would affect his trust and confidence, of course, it will change," he added.
Tap investments
Meanwhile, Lacson said PhilHealth can tap its current investments to boost its funds, to prevent the agency from running out of reserves and plunging into a deficit in 2021.
“Iyan, hindi pa natin natatanong. Dapat sa LBP (Land Bank of the Philippines) or government bank lang sila pwedeng mag-invest sa time deposit. Ito ang government bonds, pwede sila riyan (We haven’t asked about that. They can invest in a time deposit with LBP or any government bank. They can invest in government bonds),” he said.
“Kukunin natin (ang) records ng investment nila para makita natin kabuuan ng financial status ng PhilHealth (We will look into the records of their investment portfolio so we can see the whole financial status of PhilHealth in the next hearing),” the lawmaker said.
During the Senate’s hearing on the anomalies hounding PhilHealth, executives of the agency disclose that its actuarial life is now down to a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing payouts due to hospitalization.
P90-B operating losses
Nerissa Santiago, PhilHealth’s data protection officer, told senators PhilHealth is set to incur net operating losses of ₱90 billion this year and ₱140-billion in 2021 if the pandemic persists and no vaccine is discovered.
Lacson said the only solution he can see to save PhilHealth from collapsing is for the government to conduct drastic and structural reforms within the agency.
“Talagang dapat may drastic na remedial measures eh, bukod sa structural, kasi systemic ang hinaharap na corruption dito (drastic remedial measures is what we really need, aside from structural because there is really systemic corruption in PhilHealth),” he stressed.