The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has discovered a piece of cloth stuck in the drain pipe that caused leaks that damaged computers at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Region 1 office which is currently under investigation for alleged corruption.
“The NBI agents noticed that the rain gutters of the building were clogged and saw a piece of cloth stuck in the opening of the drain pipe,” said Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Saturday, Aug. 22.
“It’s hard to say, without evidence, if the cloth stuck in the drainpipe was accidental or intentional,” he said.
After learning of the leak, Guevarra said he instructed the NBI on Friday, Aug. 21, “to immediately take measures to protect and preserve official records of all PhilHealth regional offices, considering that these are public documents.”
“It appears that many of the records have been saved but the computer hardware and equipment were exposed to rain water leaks,” the secretary said.
Meanwhile, NBI Officer-In-Charge Director Eric Distor said NBI agents have begun watching closely PhilHealth offices nationwide since Thursday, Aug. 20, against possible destruction or theft of documents concerning corrupt activities.
Guevarra is the convenor of Task Force PhiHealth which he formed last Aug. 7 pursuant to the directive of President Duterte who wanted the state-run insurer investigated over corruption allegations.
The task force is composed of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), Office of the Ombudsman (OMB), the Commission on Audit (COA), the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP), the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the National Prosecution Service (NPS), and the NBI.