Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, chairman of the Senate Health and Demography Committee, has demanded the removal of corrupt officials from the state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). 

Go also asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the alleged widespread corruption at PhilHealth where cases of questionable purchases and advanced reimbursements to hospitals surfaced in Tuesday’s public hearing by the Senate constituted as a Committee of the Whole. 

In the hearing, Go quizzed officials of PhilHealth on alleged corruption within the agency as for their failure to resolve other alleged graft cases involving hundreds of millions of pesos in state and members’ money. 

Billions of pesos were reportedly pocketed by a mafia working inside PhilHealth through overpriced purchases of equipment or unnecessary purchases. 

“Paano ninyo magagamot mga pasyente kung sarili ninyong ahensya 'di n’yo magamot? Kailangan talaga ‘yang mga korap tanggalin na talaga (How can you cure the patients when you cannot cure in your own agency? There’s really a need to fire the corrupt),” he said. 

Go asked the Ombudsman to look more deeply into the matter. 

“I urge the Ombudsman to investigate para malaman natin kung sino ang mga dapat managot. Please get to the bottom of this mess. Kailangan nating malaman kung sino ang mga nasa likod ng kalokohan na ito, kung mayroon mang mga mafia, kung sino pa ang mga taong ito, (…for us to know who are those to be made accountable. Please get to the bottom of this mess. We need to know who is behind this mess, if there is a mafia, who are these people),’’ he said. 

The senator from Davao stressed that it is unacceptable that public funds intended to save lives are wasted due to corruption at a time when the country is facing a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. 

PhilHealth, being the implementer of the Universal Health Care Law, claimed that its funds are almost depleted already. 

“Handa ang gobyerno na tulungan ang PhilHealth kung kailangan ng pondo pero dapat managot ‘yung mga taong sangkot sa pagnanakaw ng pondo (The government is ready to help PhilHealth if it needs fund but those who are involve in stealing the funds should be made to answer for their acts). Enough is enough,” Go added.

 “Sisiguraduhin po natin na mananagot ang dapat managot. Kasuhan ang dapat kasuhan. Ikulong ang dapat ikulong (We will ensure that those involved in this mess will have to answer for their wrongdoings. Charges will be filed and the guilty will be jailed),” he added. 

Waiting for evidence Despite his admission during the Senate hearing that corruption is still rampant in the agency he heads, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Duterte will only fire PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales if there is evidence of his involvement in corruption in the agency. 

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Roque said despite Morales' statement, his fate is still up to President Duterte. "The President said he will not fire him unless there's evidence," he said on Wednesday. 

"He (President Duterte) still does but he wants to see the evidence. If there's evidence that would affect his trust and confidence, of course, it will change," he added. 

The Senate, the Office of the President (OP), and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission are all conducting investigations on allegations of corruption in PhilHealth. 

Roque said he was hoping that the three bodies will produce the evidence that President Duterte was waiting for to decide on the fate of Morales. 

"I'm hoping that all these investigations will document the evidence that the President wants to see," he said. 

"I'm confident the President will also prompt his own office, Usec. Quitain, a former city administrator of his in Davao, to hasten the investigation ," he added. 

Roque said Morales basically admitted in the Senate hearing that he was unable to stop corruption in PhilHealth, something that was expected of him to do when he was appointed by President Duterte last year. 

"Let's just say he has articulated in the Senate that he is unable to actually deal with corruption in Philhealth. The President should have the resources to deal with corruption," he said. 

"I did not hear steps that he has taken to remove corruption in the agency. That to me is the most worrisome," he said.