Roque says he’s not interested to lead PhilHealth

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said he is not interested in replacing Ricardo Morales as president of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

“Demotion po ‘yan. I’m not interested,” Roque, a Cabinet member, said in a televised briefing.

Roque and Morales have traded barbs over PhilHealth’s proposal to delay the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law due to a looming budget deficit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the alleged corruption in the agency.

Last week, Roque said that if Morales was unable to implement the law, which was certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte, it could be time to find someone who could accomplish the task.

He also accused Morales of inaction on alleged corruption in PhilHealth, which the latter disputed.

Morales countered that Roque was welcome to find his replacement. Roque replied that Morales should assess whether he should continue serving in his position.—AOL, GMA News