A joint congressional panel cited in contempt and ordered a four-day detention of a Philippine Health Insurance Corp. lawyer for insisting that Philhealth, as a quasi-judicial body, can amend a judicial decision.
Irate lawmakers chided lawyer Rogelio Pocallan Jr., senior manager at Philhealth’s Internal Legal Affairs Department, for “disrespectful conduct and behavior” towards a congressional proceedings.
After declaring Pocallan in contempt of the House Committees on Public Accounts and on Good Government, Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor, who heads the public accounts panel, ordered the House Sergeant-at-Arms to escort Pocallan out of the plenary hall and take custody of the young lawyer until Monday.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga moved to cite Pocallan in contempt in apparent displeasure over Pocallan’s defense of his legal opinion on the cases involving the Our Lady of Perpetual Succor Hospital (OLPSH).
“I most respectfully move, Mr. Chairman, that we cite Atty. Jonathan (sic) Pocallan, in contempt for misleading lawyers, as well as the public, that an administrative agency like Philhealth can change and modify the decision of the Court of Appeals which is already final and executory,” Barzaga stated.
He added: “That constitutes a disrespectful conduct or behavior of our proceedings.”
Deputy Speaker and Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez said he also wanted to move to penalize Pocallan for refusing to reveal who ordered him to convince the Philhealth board to amend the penalty imposed against OLPSH.
“He was trying to cover up for somebody, apparently this somebody is a ranking official of the agency,” said Fernandez.
Under intense grilling from committee members, including Deputy Speaker and SAGIP Partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, Pocallan admitted that he rendered a legal opinion that the Philhealth board is legally justified in ignoring the CA ruling on the issue.
Marcoleta was suspicious about the Philhealth action that changed the penalty of three month suspension on OLPSH for committing various irregularities in its claims for refund from the state insurer in 2018.
The OLPSH petitioned the appellate court to reverse the suspension order but the CA upheld Philhealth’s decision.
According to Marcoleta, a three-month suspension would have cost OLPSH at least P90 million in unrealized earnings from Philhealth claims.
Marcoleta disclosed that from 2015 to 2016 OLPSH’s Philhealth monthly claims averaged P30 million.
Notwithstanding its court victory, Philhealth decided to amend the penalty it imposed and instead ordered OLPSH to pay a P200,000 fine.
It was Pocallan who, through his legal opinion, allegedly convinced the Philhealth board to abandon the suspension directive and impose the fine, instead.
Pocallan justified his action by citing a legal opiinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel upholding it.
Defensor noted that despite the record of cases against OLPSH, Philhealth still included the hospital as recipient of the controversial interim disbursement mechanism.
According to Defensor, the OLPSH received P78 million in IRM funds from Philhealth.