Duterte fired Morales in ‘humanitarian way’ — Sotto

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) president and CEO Ricardo Morales said early Wednesday that he will submit his resignation letter within the day.

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) President Ricardo Morales (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

“I will file it this morning so that they have a hard copy (of the letter),” Morales told DZMM Teleradyo in an interview Wednesday.

“I am also grateful to the President and he allowed me to rest. Now I can take care of my health and my family,” he said.

“I am very grateful to our President. He never wavered in his confidence in me and I’m so humbled,” he added.

Last Monday, Rodolfo del Rosario, PhilHealth senior vice president for the Legal Sector, tendered his “irrevocable” resignation.

“The past days have been so grueling and stressful. The character assassination, trial by publicity, and relentless persecution have left me in so much agony,” wrote Del Rosario on Facebook.

“My six-month preventive suspension (allegedly due to a complaint for oppression filed by a number of PhilHealth officials who the PhilHealth Board of Directors charged for several offenses) was too much to bear,” he added.

Del Rosario said he had “no regrets” serving PhilHealth and that he has a “clear conscience.”

Del Rosario was among the four PhilHealth officials identified by PhilHealth board member Alejandro Cabading as part of the so-called “mafia” in the agency.

Morales is currently undergoing chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with lymphoma.

The PhilHealth chief assured that he will still cooperate with the ongoing investigations with regards to the alleged fraudulent activities in the state-health insurer.

“The investigation is still ongoing. I signed a bank secrecy waiver and we submitted (ourselves) to a lifestyle check, I submitted a document – the SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth). I’m complying with the Department of Justice’s investigation,” he said.

Morales said that their conduct of PhilHealth’s Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) or the agency’s emergency cash advance measure to assist healthcare institutions (HCIs) in case of “fortuitous event,” is “transparent.”

“I'm confident that there is transparency in the IRM. We are submitting reports to Congress and we say where it goes, to whom, and how much. There are receipts for that. That is all above board,” he said.

Morales’ resignation came just a day after Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra revealed that President Duterte “stated that it would be best” for the PhilHealth chief to give up his post given his health condition.

Guevarra also said that Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea had talked to Morales.

“(Morales) said he would understand if he had to be replaced,” Guevarra said.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III lauded Morales for heeding President Duterte's order for him to step down amid the controversies in the agency.

Sotto said President Duterte was firing Morales in a “humanitarian way.”

Noreen Jazul, Analou De Vera, and Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola

PhilHealth officials resign