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Zero tolerance for corruption at PhilHealth -- Palace

Philippines | National

Zero tolerance for corruption at PhilHealth -- Palace

By Argyll Cyrus Geducos

MalacaÃ±ang assured the public Friday that it will not let erring PhilHealth officials off the hook as the Duterte administration has zero tolerance for corruption.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque
(OPS / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after the hashtag "'Wag kalimutan yung binulsang 15 billion sa PhilHealth challenge (Don't forget about the P15 billion pocketed PhilHealth funds challenge)'' trended on social media.

In a statement, Roque assured the public that the Duterte administration will not let the corruption in PhilHealth slide.

"There is no let-up in our drive to make erring officials of the Philippine Health Corp. (PhilHealth) accountable for their alleged misdeeds," he said.

"Zero tolerance against corruption is not just a catchphrase but a serious matter in the current administration," he added.

According to Roque, the Department of Justice (DoJ), through its PhilHealth Task Force, is already finalizing the complaints identified in its report to President Duterte for filing before the proper venue.

He added that the composite teams tasked to look into but not limited to the PhilHealth Legal Sector are continuing their investigation.

PhilHealth is under scrutiny for alleged corrupt activities, prompting Duterte to name former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Dante Gierran as new PhilHealth president and tasked him cleanse the State health insurer.

Last week, Duterte approved the task force recommendation to file criminal charges against former PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales and other senior officials for graft, malversation, and illegal use of public funds, and gross misconduct and gross neglect.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the investigation on PhilHealth will continue and hinted that more people may be charged.

Corruption in PhilHealth had allegedly cost the agency P154 billion in losses since 2003.

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