Duterte eyes PhilHealth revamp amid 'ghost dialysis' issue

President Rodrigo Duterte mulls reshuffling the management of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) amid the issue on "ghost dialysis" procedures, involving possible misuse of billions of government funds.

"When I go back, I will make an announcement, I maybe reshuffling the Philhealth [management]," Duterte said Saturday in an interview on Pastor Apollo Quiboloy's television show on Sonshine Media Network.

"I have to reorganize your entity, change maybe all of you and install more systems of accounting and accountability," the President said.

Duterte said the PhilHealth needs "business people" as accounting money is "purely management" as he lamented how around P100 billion worth of funds were used to pay for the treatment of those who are already dead.

"The sheer amount na 100 something billion is totally, totally unacceptable to me," he said.

"Bakit umabot nang ganun kalaki without the necessary checks along the way? ‘Yung parang kung sa highway pa, the checkpoints," he added.

"Was there a kind of checks that you install? Because if none then we have fallen short of our duty to really protect the money," the President said.

Despite his plan to reorganize PhilHealth, Duterte said he does not have "the slightest doubt about the integrity and honesty of Roy Ferrer," the acting operations officer of the agency. since he was among those who push for the prosecution of those involved in the misuse of the state health insurance funds. —Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News