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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Drilon welcomes Duterte decision to let Morales go

Drilon welcomes Duterte decision to let Morales go

Published Aug 26, 2020 04:12 pm

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon welcomed today President Duterte’s decision to finally let go of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales amid corruption allegations and urged the Chief Executive to launch a top-to-bottom reorganization of the agency.

Senator Franklin Drilon
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Drilon said the President’s pronouncement on Morales “is a welcome development” but reiterated that as long as the general structure of the corporation remains the same, corruption within PhilHealth will continue.

“What PhilHealth needs now is a top-to-bottom cleansing in order to get rid of individuals who used PhilHealth as their personal ATM. Sa gitna ng pandemya, ginawa nilang personal na bangko ang PhilHealth (In the middle of a pandemic, they used PhilHealth as their personal bank),” Drilon said in a statement.

The Senate Minority Leader said he has proposed to the Senate Committee of the Whole to authorize the President to reorganize PhilHealth.

“The long history of corruption within the corporation, across all levels, may be addressed by passing a law that would authorize the President to reorganize PhilHealth. this reorganization must be accompanied by a well-studied reorganization plan,” the senator stressed.

He also said the government should observe the “fit and proper rule” in appointing officials to PhilHealth.

“The fit and proper rule should be strictly applied. The officials must be chosen based on their integrity, experience, education, training and competence, among others,” he said.

Drilon also said it is imperative that the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), as the governing body for government corporations, actively and decisively perform its mandate as a central advisory, monitoring and oversight body of PhilHealth.

The GCG, he said, should identify the necessary skills and qualifications required for appointive directors to the PhilHealth.

He also said the GCG should consider the suitability and qualifications of the candidates before submitting its recommendations to the President.

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