A youth group has strongly opposed the appointment of former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Dante Gierran to head the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.(PhilHealth).
Akbayan Youth voiced concerns about Gierran’s appointment as PhilHealth president given his “inexperience in public health and medicine.”
"The new Philhealth president is even confused with his own appointment. He said he's scared and he knows nothing about finance. This is in no way reassuring for millions of Philhealth members," Akbayan Youth chair Dr. RJ Naguit said in a statement.
Gierran replaced Ricardo Morales who resigned from his post due to his medical condition during the ongoing investigation into the alleged P15 billion fraud and other reported anomalies in the state-run insurance agency.
Gierran has a long service record in the NBI, where he served as NBI director for almost four years since his appointment in 2016. He is a certified public accountant and a lawyer.
He admitted that he is not familiar with the operations of PhilHealth and does not have any experience in public health management. “I’m scared but I’m not cowed,” he said over ANC.
Akbayan Youth emphasized how Gierran’s appointment goes against the Universal Healthcare Law that Duterte signed.
“The Universal Healthcare Law requires that the person must have seven years of experience in public health, management, finance, and health economics. Gierran himself admitted: he (has) none of the above,” Naguit said.
The group also expressed its misgivings about the appointment of retired
military generals and former law enforcers in top government positions.
“Gierran will fill in the shoes of President Morales who was a retired general, but failed miserably in stopping corruption in the agency,” he cited.
Akbayan Youth demanded accountability from Morales, Health Secretary Francisco Duque, and other officials allegedly involved in the Philhealth scandal.