The Lower Chamber’s continued probe on the graft and corruption cases in Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will be temporarily shelved after the House leadership decided to cancel all committee meetings or hearings for one week starting Monday, Oct. 19.
This was disclosed by Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Michael Defensor, chairperson of the House Committee on Public Accounts, in a Viber message to the House media, a day before the scheduled joint investigation of the House Committees on Public Accounts and Good Government and Public Accountability on the PhilHealth anomalies.
“In compliance with the memo of the Majority Leader as per guidance of the Speaker, all committee hearings are cancelled temporarily for the leadership to regroup and coordinate priority legislative measures. I apologize for this, but I'm assured the Committee on Public Accounts may resume its deliberations after this,” Defensor said.
This week, eight committee meetings/hearings have been scheduled.
House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez issued a one-page memorandum to all committee chairpersons directing the cancellation of meetings.
"Upon the instructions of the Speaker, all committee meetings/hearings are hereby ordered cancelled for the period October 19-26, 2020. This is to allow the House to review and refocus its priorities for the 2nd Regular session,” according to the memo dated October 18.
Aside from the House Committees on Public Accounts and Good Government and Public Accountability, the House Committees on Rural Development, People’s Participation, Public Works and Highways, Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), and Overseas Workers Affairs are scheduled to conduct meetings this week.
The meeting of the Public Works and Highways was already marked as cancelled, according to the chamber’s committee schedule posted on its website.