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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Del Rosario blames management policy, lack of resources in poor performance of PhilHealth's legal sector

Del Rosario blames management policy, lack of resources in poor performance of PhilHealth's legal sector

Published Aug 27, 2020 02:07 pm

Resigned Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) senior vice president for the legal sector Atty. Rodolfo Del Rosario Jr. blamed management policy as with lack of resources for his office’s very low prosecution of fraud cases involving employees and health care institutions (HCIs), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday, Aug. 27.

(MANILA BULLETIN)

DOJ spokesman and Undersecretary Markk Perete said Del Rosario pointed this out when he was grilled last Wednesday at a hearing conducted by Task Force PhilHealth.

“Pressed to account for the Legal Sector’s performance, Del Rosario explained that management policy favored settlement over prosecution of cases so as not to dampen esprit de corps,” Perete said in a statement.  

“He also noted alleged limitations in resources of regional offices prevented them from promptly filing criminal complaints against HCIs,” he added.

Because of PhilHealth’s poor performance, the DOJ spokesman noted the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GCG) has “previously given the PhilHealth Legal Sector zero rating in its 2017 and 2018 evaluations because of delays in the filing of cases.”

During the hearing, Del Rosario revealed that only 11 cases have been filed among the 1,700 cases in PhilHealth’s case inventory involving HCIs.

“Losses related to cases involving HCIs -- which include fraudulent claims -- were estimated at around P4.7B,” Perete said.

Del Rosario also confirmed that only 50 cases resulted in the filing of formal charges among the thousands of administrative cases against PhilHealth employees including a case involving P2.1 billion.

Meanwhile, Perete assured the task force has already created a composite team investigating PhilHealth’s legal department.

“The team will, among others, audit and validate the case inventory of PhilHealth, and recommend, if warranted, the commencement of  administrative, civil and/or criminal action against the corporation’s employees and HCIs,” he said.

DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra formed Task Force PhiHealth last Aug. 7 pursuant to the directive of Duterte who wanted the government corporation 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 National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

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