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Complainants to continue seeking accountability over P60-B PhilHealth fund transfer

Philippines | Visayas

Complainants to continue seeking accountability over P60-B PhilHealth fund transfer

By Tara Yap

ILOILO CITY – Ilonggo complainants won’t stop seeking accountability in the P60-billion Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) fund transfer to the national treasury even after the Office of the Ombudsman junked the plunder and graft cases filed against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and former PhilHealth president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr.

“We will pursue the appropriate legal recourse on this matter,” said Rodel Taton, an Ilonggo lawyer who was among those who filed cases against Recto and Ledesma.

Taton said in a statement on Wednesday, June 10, that he has not received an official copy of the 40-page Ombudsman resolution that junked complaints of graft, plunder, and technical malversation.

“We still firmly believe there was evident bad faith in facilitating the transfer of P60 billion in PhilHealth reserve funds to the National Treasury, ultimately undermining the trust of the Filipino people,” said Taton.

Taton said the actions of Recto and Ledesma undermined the trust of Filipinos in healthcare benefits.

“The number of people from the public and private sectors coming forward to seek accountability from Recto and Ledesma through duly constituted authorities should be considered as this indicates that we have seen, and we do know, that something is wrong, and therefore we are taking the initiative to ask our institutions to look further into these messes,” noted Taton.

“The Filipino people, who have struggled time and time again, need this accountability now more than ever,” added Taton.

The Ombudsman found no evidence that Recto and Ledesma amassed ill-gotten wealth from the PhilHealth fund.

Related Tags

PhilHealth Executive Secretary Ralph Recto Emmanuel Ledesma

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