A joint congressional committee on Tuesday recommended charges of syndicated estafa, plunder and graft against former and incumbent executive officers, employees and board members, including four Cabinet members, of the Philippine Health Insurance Commission in connection with the massive fund anomalies that have plagued the state insurer for more than a decade.
Included among those to be criminally held liable were Philhealth chairman and Health Secretary Francisco Duque and board members Secretaries Silvestre Bello III (labor) ; Wendel E. Avisado (budget) ; Rolando Joselito Bautista (social welfare and development) and Carlos Dominguez (finance).
Also to be charged are former Philhealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales, EVP Arnel De Jesus, SVP Israel Pargas, Renato Limsiaco, Rodolfo del Rosario, and Senior Manager Rogelio Pocallan Jr.
The Cabinet officials were tagged for their alleged participation in the approval of a memorandum of agreement between Philhealth and the Philippine Red Cross and the questionable Information Technology deal made by Philhealth.
Said MOA for the COVID-19 testings have been assailed as “disadvantageous to the government.”
In a virtual meeting, the House Committees on Public Accounts and on Good Government and Public Accountability also proposed the passage of the Philhealth Crisis Act of 2020 that will grant President Duterte the authority to privatize wholly or any segment of Philhealth; abolish offices, and totally overhaul the agency.
The two House panels also recommended amendments to Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act in connection with the mandatory contributions of overseas Filipino workers.
Authored by Anakalusugan Partylist Rep. Michael T. Defensor, chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, House Bill 7424 seeks to give migrant workers “the leeway to draft the proper premium rates” for health insurance coverage that would fit their special circumstances.
Prior to its approval, Bulacan Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado, good government panel chairman, and Kabayan Partylist Rep. Ron Salo sought to exempt Philhealth board members from charges but were turned down during the nominal voting that followed.
The two House panels approved the proposed joint panel report on its inquiry into the Philhealth mess after conducting at least nearly a dozen hearings to investigate the “systemic corruption” and fraudulent activities in the Philhealth.
In the graft-ridden implementation of the all-case rate (ACR) system, the lawmakers cited the Commission on Audit annual audit reports from 2013 to 2018 that found numerous funding irregularities and anomalous expenditures.
Overpayments in the ACR have been discovered by COA since 2008 when the ACR was initially implemented.
“Based on the COA Report, Philhealth had already overpaid hospitals a whopping PhP 102.5 billion between 2013 to 2018, while estimated fraudulent activities amounted to PhP51.2 billion.
The joint panel identified former Philhealth chairman Enrique Ona and all ex-officio and appointed members of the board as being involved in the approval of the policies governing the ACR.
Administrative complaints for violation of Republic Act 7878 were recommended by the House panels.
With regard to the equally anomalous Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM), the committees found the mechanism as “flawed and encourages large scale corruption and collusion” between Philhealth officials and health care institutes which were granted IRM funds.
“Most importantly, the legal basis of the IRM is unclear. Despite this, some PhP15 billion of funds have been distributed by Philhealth to various HCIs all over the country,” the report stated.
The committees also decried as “irregular” the ratification by the Philhealth Board of a resolution “to cure” the release of P100 million to PRC on May 5, 2020, in connection with the COVID-19 testing.
Graft charges and violation of Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code for the illegal use of public funds have been recommended against Morales and other Philhealth executives and the board members, including Duque and his fellow Cabinet secretaries.
The information technology contract which was found by auditors to be highly irregular was also the basis of the committee recommendation for the filing of violation of Republic Act 11127 in connection with the registration of payment system operators.
The House panel also found the Cardinal Santos Medical Center deal involving the refund of P240 million from 1999 to 2008 also fraught with anomalies.
The joint panel called for an investigation for syndicated estafa and plunder charges against former Philhealth chairman Alexander Padilla; lawyers Edgardo Asuncion; Dean Voltaire Bautista and former government corporate counsel Raul Creencia.
For the Accenture controversy, the committees urged the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation to reopen and expedite its probe into the issue.