There is no "palakasan" system in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's (Philhealth) cash advances to health care facilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III assured on Tuesday.

Duque also maintained that he has "zero tolerance" for fraud and corruption.

The Department of Health (DOH) chief virtually attended the Senate Committee of the Whole's third hearing on the alleged rampant corruption and irregularities in the PHilHealth, following the senators' call for his explanation and position on the controversies hounding the agency.

Duque concurrently chairs the PhilHealth Board of Directors, which oversees the use, disbursement and management of the country's health insurance funds.

In his opening statement, he said "PhilHealth is a program very close to heart" as he recalled that his father and former health secretary, Francisco Quimsom Duque Jr. was the first to come up with the concept of a medical care plan for Filipinos.

"Its precursor, the Medicare, was the brainchild of my late father, former Secretary of Health Francisco Duque. Consequently, my commitment to safeguarding the sustainability of the fund is very personal," Duque said.

"I would like to state for the record that I am for zero tolerance on fraud and corruption," he told the Senate panel.

In his defense, Duque also enumerated his anti-fraud initiatives during his leadership of the Philhealth in 2001, in 2005 to 2008, and up to his current stint.

He also responded to the claims of corruption against the PhilHealth during the legislative investigations, specifically on the issues raised about the agency's implementation of the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM), which was questioned for alleged favoritism to select non-COVID-19 hospitals.

"On the allegations of palakasan (favoritism) system in the IRM, we assure you, there is none," he said.

Echoing explanations of the PHilHealth officials in previous hearings, Duque said that "IRM funds are not exclusive to hospitals catering to COVID-19 patients."

He said the IRM is a "special privilege" given to all health care institutions (HCIs) that are affected by "fortuitous events and emergencies" to ensure the continuous provision of health care, saying it had been used in previous calamities such as Typhoons Ondoy and Yolanda, as well as as the Marawi siege.

He also reiterated that the program was based on the provisions of the Universal Health Care Act, which gave the state insurer the "flexibility" to implement financing schemes for health care institutions (HCIs). He also cited that this was in line with the "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act".

"It's like prepositioning funds to target areas so that reimbursement of claims is easier for HCIs during the pandemic when funds can be difficult to access," Duque explained.

"We are in a war against an invisible enemy and COVID-19 patients are not the only casualties in this war," he maintained.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, however, questioned the rationale and legal basis of the application of the IRM to dialysis centers and maternity health facilities that are not catering to COVID-19 patients.

"Maski hanapin niyo wala kayong makitang pang-justify saklaw ng IRM na pwedeng sakupin ang non-COVID-19 cases (Even if you look for it, there is no justification for such coverage of the IRM of non-COVID-19 cases)," Lacson said, citing the PhilHealth's circular on the program.

Lacson then asked Duque to define "fortuitous events", which the latter replied as those "unforeseen, force majeure" circumstances.

"Is dialysis a fortuitous event? Hindi po (No). Ang maternity care fortuitous event ba 'yan? Hindi rin po," Lacson quipped, bringing up anew the millions of advanced payments made to B. Braun Avitum Dialysis Centers amid the pandemic.

Duque later agreed with Lacson about the "illegal" payments and assured that " will rectify" their current manner of implementation of the IRM.

The PhilHealth earlier reported that P14.97 billion have been released to HCIs under the IRM before the program was suspended recently for review.

P154B lost to fraud? 'No such thing'

Duque also belied claims that the PhilHealth lost P154 billion of funds to allegedly fraudulent claims and said "there is no such thing" even in the reports published by the Commission of Audit (COA).

"I will repeat to set the record straight: There is no such thing as a P154- billion loss," he said, presenting to the committee a June 10, 2020 letter by COA chair Michael Aguinaldo certifying this statement.

He also clarified to the Senate panel that the PhilHealth's information technology (IT) procurement plan being questioned for alleged overpricing has yet to be carried out.

"I would like to make it clear there has been no release of anyfunding on this project since everything is still in the proposal stage," he said.

Duque said he supported the sentiment of PhilHealth board members for the revision and detailing of the IT project following the reported discrepancies. He added that the Board has deferred action on the plan pending the results of the fact-finding probe and recommendations from IT experts, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Duque also denied Sen. Leila de Lima's claim that the PhilHealth's failure to release benefit payments resulted in the closure of some 300 hospitals.

"Our data show that benefit payments are regularly and systematically released to those with complete requirements submitted," he said.

"These hospitals which Sen. De Lima are referring to are among those (whose) claims were long-denied for their failure to submit the necessary requirement, or submitted within the 360-day period provided for in PhilHealth charter," he added.

Duque said the Philhealth paid P114.6 billion to accredited hospitals in 2018 and P97.4 billion in 2019. For 2020, more than P43 billion of benefit payments have been released, of which P24.5 billion or 56.8 percent were paid to private hospitals.

In his closing statement, Duque said, he respects the Senate Committee of the Whole for its fight against corruption in the PhilHealth, "in the same way that I remain unflinching in my battles not only in the fight to protect my character as public servant but also in the fight to to implement President Rodrigo Duterte's vision for genuine universal access to health care to all Filipinos."

"I am one with you to ensure accountabilty of officers and uphold public office as a public trust," he added.