President Duterte is now looking for the replacement of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday.

Duque said that the Chief Executive is eyeing to announce the replacement of Morales "within the week."
"Si Pangulo right now is already looking for a replacement. So ang pinupuntirya natin within the week sana po magkaroon na ng bagong pangulo o punong tagapagpatupad ang PhilHealth (The President right now is already looking for a replacement. So what we are targeting -- within the week, (we) are hoping that there will be a new president for PhilHealth)," said Duque.
Duque said that the President is looking for someone who has knowledge about finance.
"Ang kwalipikasyon, ay siyempre yung marunong sa finance dahil ang tagumpay ng PhilHealth ay nakasalalay po sa tinatawag natin na actuarial sustainability (The qualification, of course, is someone who is knowledgeable in finance because PhilHealth's success depends on what we call actuarial sustainability)," he said.
"Ngayon kung maalam din sa accounting, mas magaling. Kung meron din siyang ika nga background sa legal, magaling din. So ito po ang mga, ika nga katangian, tingin ko hinahanap ng Office of the President para sa susunod na pangulo ng PhilHealth. Iyan po ang hinahanap ngayon ([Now if that person is also knowledgeable in accounting, that also is better. If he also has a legal background, that is also good. So these are the qualities, I think the Office of the President is looking for the next president of PhilHealth)," he added.
Duque said that Morales and former PhilHealth Senior Vice President for the Legal Sector Rodolfo del Rosario Jr. must still participate in the investigations even if they have resigned from their posts.
“They will have to cooperate, they have to make themselves available, make all the documents available as long as the investigation is ongoing,” said Duque.
“Sinabi naman nila iyon (They have said that already). That will not exempt them from their obligations,” he added.