Why is Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Franciso Duque III so quiet regarding the allegations of massive corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth)?
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
A curious ACT-Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro raised this question Friday during the Makabayan bloc's weekly press conference on Zoom.
"Nakakapagtaka ano, palalim nang palalim ang mga nahuhukay natin na katiwalian sa PhilHealth pero bakit tahimik naman itong si Duque? (I'm wondering, why is Duque remaining silent despite the layers of corruption that we're uncovering at PhilHealth?)" Castro asked.
"Bakit itong si DoH Secretary Duque ay tahimik? Nagtatago pa rin ba katulad ng ibang mga board (members) sa pamamagitan ng sakit? (Why is DoH Secretary Duque silent? Is he hiding behind the veil of sickness like the other board members?)" she added sarcastically.
Duque is listed as chairman in the board of directors of PhilHealth, which has been the focus of a House inquiry amid reports of corruption and mismanagement that has supposedly threathened the liquidity of the State-run health insurer.
"You should go into the open kasi ikaw 'yung (chairman) ng PhilHealth (because you're the chairman of PhilHealth)," Castro said, adding that the House Committee on Public Accounts should find ways to make the DoH chief talk on the matter.
The lady solon described the fraud in connection with the corporation's interim reimbursement mechanism -- which was discussed at length in an Aug. 12 hearing -- as "hair-raising."
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate echoed Castro's call for some sort of accountability from Duque given the mounting corruption allegations at PhilHealth.
"Kung napabayaan, kailangan managot din ang board. Hindi puwede mag hugas-kamay (If there was negligence, then the board must be held accountable. They can't wash their hands from this)," he said during the same presser.
"This is not just a whiff of corruption; this is an epidemic of corruption affecting State-managed funds," Zarate said, referring to President Duterte's promise to stamp out graft and fraud in government during his term.
Public Accounts panel chairman, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, recommended during the Aug. 12 hearing the filing of plunder charges against various corporation officials down to the regional level. He even branded the schemers of corruption over at PhilHealth as a mafia.
Defensor said in an ealier hearing that State health insurer lost some P153.7 billion between 2013 and 2018 due to overpayment and corruption.
The Makabayan solons called on the implicated PhilHealth officials to just resign.