Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Wednesday officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) who were tagged in alleged anomalies at the agency should take a leave to stop them from having access to important documents that could shed light in the ongoing legislative probe.

Drilon made the appeal a day after the second hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole on alleged irregularities in the PhilHealth Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) and the allegedly overpriced Information Technology (IT) program of the agency.

“My take is that indeed, there is at least prima facie case of corruption and that corruption is embedded in PhilHealth bureaucracy. The officials involved should take a leave of absence,” Drilon said in online interview with Senate reporters.

“At this point, all those officials named should take a leave in order to prevent them from having access to the documents. Many of what was revealed would involve documents and these are the evidence that can be used,” the Senate Minority Leader stressed.

“The best thing that can happen is that people named should go on leave while all these investigations are ongoing,” he added.

Drilon said it is imperative that investigators are able to have full access to PhilHealth documents to prevent the personnel involved, without passing their guilt or innocence, from tampering with the evidence.

“We already heard yesterday that one of them removed the signature page in one of the documents because it could be incriminating and this is in the approval on the purchase of IT equipment, which is allegedly overpriced.

“I must state and warn that at this stage that the officials involved in the IRM could be liable for violation of the anti-graft law,” Drilon stressed.

“Those who are found to have participated in the formulation and implementation of the IRM could be liable under Section 3 (g) of the anti-graft law, that is (g) entering, on behalf of the government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will profit thereby,” the former Justice Secretary said.

Drilon noted no less than the Commission on Audit (CoA) chairman asserted that PhilHealth officials must liquidate the IRM within a reasonable period of time.

“The CoA said it has been four months and up to now there is no liquidation. The way the IRM is implemented, favoritism is very clear, giving advantage to some regions while denying the same privilege to other regions."

The senator said the agency should have complied strictly with CoA rules on liquidation. “If PhilHealth is efficient in processing claims and paying them on time, you have no reason to launch an IRM or an advanced payment scheme,” he said.

Drilon also said he agrees on the need to invite Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to the hearings, so he can shed light on questions surrounding the IRM program.

“Yes, he should attend, because, for example, the IRM is supposed to have been covered by a board resolution. Although there were questions raised as to when the approval came,” he said.

“Certainly, Secretary Duque would have to explain to the Senate how he conducted himself and whether or not due diligence was exercised as chairman of PhilHealth,” he also said.