Newly appointed Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president and chief executive officer Dante Gierran should keep his eyes open to corruption, Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday.
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I wish Gierran good luck on his appointment. What awaits him is high-level and deeply embedded corruption which is perfected over time by corrupt syndicates in PhilHealth,” Drilon said.
“He should keep his eyes open, and never blink, to corruption,” the minority leader said.
“A piece of advice to Gierran: transparency is an effective tool to prevent corruption,” he added.
Drilon said he hopes Gierran’s leadership in PhilHealth will finally shine a light on the agency “which operates in the dark.”
He also said the former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director should enhance transparency in the state health insurance agency by employing technology.
“He must oversee the upgrading of the system of PhilHealth to minimize, if not stop, corruption. He can contract out IT companies to carry out the digitization of PhilHealth.
“It takes more than reshuffling of personnel. A top-to-bottom reorganization is what must be done. Get rid of the corrupt and the incompetent. We should put behind bars those who are part of the syndicates,” the lawmaker added.
Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa also said he is confident Gierran can handle the pressure inside the PhilHealth very well.
“Being a lawyer and a former NBI Director, I am optimistic that Atty. Dante Gierran will be able to put to good use his investigative expertise in decapitating the criminal syndicate whose tentacles have been gripping tightly the PhilHealth operations,” Dela Rosa said.
Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara also said he wishes Gierran luck in his new assignment and hopes that he will “hit the ground running as there is no time to waste in terms of modernizing PhilHealth and its systems of reimbursing healthcare costs and keeping information.”
“He must shepherd PhilHealth into the 21st century using tools like information technology, block chain, and the like,” Angara said.
“He must also update the system of case rates which has given rise to systemic corruption, at the expense, tragically, of the people who need it the most,” the lawmaker added.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also said he hopes Gierran would immediately heed the marching orders given to him by the President.
“The marching order for Atty. Gierran is loud and clear—investigate and prosecute the criminals inside PhilHealth. This is where his training as a lawyer, a CPA and an investigator will play a major role in reforming PhilHealth,” Gatchalian said on his post on Twitter.