Sotto to PhilHealth officials: Go easy on filing libel charges

Senate President Vicente Sotto III advised Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) officials against rushing to file libel charges against the whistleblowers of the alleged corruption in the state insurer.

"I will say that be careful when you file a case of libel because it might be proven to be true," Sotto said in a virtual briefing with reporters.

Sotto gave the unsolicited advice after he was asked about the threat of senior PhilHealth officials to file a complaint  against resigned anti-fraud legal officer Thorrson Keith, who claimed there was "widespread corruption" in the agency and that officials involved in the alleged mafia pocketed some P15 billion of government funds.

He called this a "bad move", saying it might backfire at them should the allegations be substantiated by evidence.

"'Yon ang mabigat sa basta ka nagfa-file ng libel, baka mapatunayang totoo. Magfile ka kung sigurado kang hindi totoo, pero kung oras na mabigat ang ebidensya, yari ka pa (That's what might happen when you hastily file libel charges, they might be proven true. So file a case if you are sure that it was untrue, but once there is substantial evidence, then you are in danger)," the Senate chief said. 

"It's like committing suicide," he continued.

Keith had asked for the grant of legislative immunity and security from the Senate as he cited statements from  PhilHealth executives and the alleged threat to his life.

Sotto, who also chairs the Committee of the Whole conducting the inquiry on PhilHealth anomalies, said Keith and the other witnesses who shared their knowledge on the issues were already covered by the Senate's parliamentary immunity.

"The issue of this parliamentary immunity...the prevailing constitutional effect... is that in Congress, particularly the Senate in this case, anything that is said and used by the senators or Senate itself has parliamentary immunity. So he is automatically given a parliamentary immunity without us saying so," Sotto said about Keith's request.

"'Yon ang pagkakaintindi ko sa pagkakabigay sa Senado ng parliamentary immunity (That's how I interpret the parliamentary immunity given to the Senate)," he added.

Sotto, however, was quick to clarify that lies committed under oath are not covered by the immunity grant. 

"It does not give him immunity if he is lying. If you are charged with perjury and proven that you committed perjury, then you shed off the parliamentary immunity," he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, committee vice chairman, said last Saturday that he will move for the grant of protection to Keith and PhilHealth board member Alejandro Cabading, who also requested for legislative immunity.

It was Cabading who identified and tagged members of the PhilHealth executive committee as being part of the so-called "mafia" that was allegedly responsible for the irregularities in the agency.

The Senate Committee of the Whole will resume its investigation on PhilHealth on Tuesday, August 11.