The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Thursday said that it will wait first for the legal opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) before paying its overdue balance of P930 million to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
“PhilHealth with the support of its Board of Directors, shall wait for DOJ’s opinion on the PhilHealth-PRC MOA (memorandum of agreement) for proper legal guidance on how to proceed with its payment to the PRC,” the state health insurer said in a statement.
The agency also reiterated that it has enough funds to pay its financial obligations to PRC.
“ is requesting all those who have been affected by this issue for more patience and understanding as PhilHealth moves forward with this partnership with the proper legal support, all in aid of ensuring that members’ funds are properly handled and disbursed,” it said.
In a press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire acknowledged the contribution of PRC in the government’s COVID-19 testing initiatives.
“Hindi po tayo magkakaila na malaki ang contribution ng Philippine Red Cross sa ating daily outputs or the outputs for our laboratories...Yes, we were affected by the stopping of the operations of the Philippine Red Cross,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire said that they already sought the assistance of other government facilities to process the specimens that were originally assigned to the PRC.
The government facilities are: Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital (Tala), Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, PNP Crime Laboratory, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital; Ospital ng Imus, and Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital.
Vergeire also said that there are 10 private laboratories which also offered to help the government in processing specimens for coronavirus testing.
“Meron pong mga private laboratories, which already expressed their interest na sila po ay tutulong para maibsan itong nagkakaroon tayo ng mga bottlenecks because of the stoppage of the operation of the Philippine Red Cross ,” said Vergeire.