Sotto: 3-4 witnesses to join Senate probe on PhilHealth 'irregularities'

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday said there will be three to four witnesses who will testify about the alleged corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) amid the pandemic.

"The investigation will not just be focusing on one witness ha. There will be three or four other witnesses, and I am now receiving issues from different groups and different associations against the way the PhilHealth is being run," Sotto said in a virtual press conference.

He said the looming Senate Committee of the Whole investigation on the PhilHealth issue would hopefully lead to indictment and prosecution of those who will be proven involved in corrupt practices.

"They will be providing evidence," Sotto said when asked if the unnamed witnesses have documents to support their claims.

"Ang inaasahan ko sa imbestigasyon ngayon, makukumpleto ang ebidensya at saka ang imbestigasyon ay hindi lang mase-settle sa isa o dalawang issue kundi malawakan," he added.

Sotto also urged others who have information on the alleged corruption in PhilHealth to surface, as he assured them that the Senate will provide protection to whistleblowers "as always."

Moreover, Sotto said the ultimate goal of the Senate inquiry that he and Senator Panfilo Lacson called for was to reform the PhilHealth law to ensure that there will be no more room for irregularities.

Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, meanwhile, said embattled PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales still has the trust of President Rodrigo Duterte pending the results of the executive probe on the matter.

"As of now, nabanggit niya (Duterte) sa akin malaki po ang tiwala niya kay Gen. Dick Morales, sa kaniyang integridad. Kaya lang po 'yung sa baba, 'yung mga tauhan sa baba, dapat niyang tingnan mabuti at dapat nga po ay imbestigahan," Go said.

Go, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, nonetheless said he supports the Senate investigation to get to the roots of the issues hounding PhilHealth.

Morales has denied that there is "widespread corruption" in the corporation as alleged by Thorrsson Montes Keith, the state insurer's resigned anti-fraud officer.

Morales, who said Keith is a disgruntled employee, has also welcomed the Senate investigation. —KBK, GMA News