Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Sunday the Senate may initiate the filing of complaints against officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.(PhilHealth) who were not charged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
(SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“We’re keeping our options open. Puwede kaming mag-initiate ng pag-file ng kaso sa mga taong hindi naisama ng task force (We can initiate the filing of cases against the people who were not included by the government task force),” Lacson said in an interview over GMANews TV.
“Wala naman magpe-prevent sa amin kung dudulog kami sa Ombudsman bilang isang body, bilang Senado o bilang Kongreso kung sasama ang House of Representatives kasi sila mismo nagsagawa rin ng malawakang imbestigasyon (No one will prevent us if we approach the Ombudsman as a body, as a Senate or as a Congress, if the House of Representatives will come with us because they too conducted an in-depth investigation),” the senator said.
Among those who are facing complaints based on the findings of the Department of Justice (DoJ)-led task force are resigned PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales, executive vice president and chief operating officer Arnel de Jesus, and senior vice presidents Renato Limsiaco Jr. and Israel Francis Pragas.
The NBI did not file complaints against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and former PhilHealth senior vice president Rodolfo del Rosario Jr. whom the Senate recommended as among those who should be sued for graft and corruption following their investigation into the controversy.
Lacson said Duque and Del Rosario may be included in the second phase of the government task force’s investigation.
“Baka sa second phase ng investigation masama sila kasi may pahayag sila na itutuloy-tuloy nila (They might be included in the second phase of the investigation, because they said they will continue the probe)” Lacson said.
Lacson said he is convinced that Duque and Del Rosario should be included in the charge sheet.
“Kung susundan mo ang committee report na in-adopt ng Senado, oo. Kasi kasama sila sa recommendation ng committee report na inadopt (If you follow the committee report adopted by the Senate, yes. Because they are part of the recommendation in the committee report that was adopted).”