Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday reminded the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) chief that liquidation is different from audit clearance.
Lacson issued the statement after PhilHealth president Dante Gierran claimed that 92 percent of the P15-billion supposedly lost to corruption had already been liquidated.
“Liquidation is different from audit. Say, if public funds were spent not for COVID-19 as required under the IRM (interim reimbursement mechanism), but for dialysis centers and infirmaries and which are clearly not authorized, it can still be declared as liquidated - but it does not mean funds were legally disbursed,” Lacson said.
The former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief said this is the reason why former and current officials of the state health insurer are now facing charges filed by the task force led by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
While it may be true that no money is lost, Lacson said what is certain is that unauthorized health care institutions (HCIs) under the IRM scheme were receiving payments from PhilHealth, instead of those authorized COVID-related services rendered by hospitals and other HCIs.
The senator pointed out both public and private HCIs were still waiting to be paid, a matter that PhilHealth should fully explain.
“That is why, as we already know, some former and current PhilHealth officials presently face charges from the DOJ-led task force,” he said.
Gierran, at a press briefing on Tuesday, said nothing is missing from the P15-billion PhilHealth funds that were allegedly lost to corruption. The matter regarding anomalies in the agency’s IRM scheme was raised during the Senate hearings last year.
According to Gierran, 92 percent of the PhilHealth’s fund have been liquidated.
“Sa totoo lang po, hindi po nawawala, andiyan lang… Sa ngayon po 92 percent na ang liquidated ( The truth is, no money is missing here. 92 percent have been liquidated),” Gierran said.
“I will not allow that iyong pera ng Pilipino nawala. Galing ako sa NBI po, hindi puwedeng mangyari sa akin iyan (I will not allow that Filipinos money will go missing. I am from the NBI and I won’t allow it happening under my watch),” the former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director further said.