PhilHealth mafia ‘very much active’ –Lacson

Amid allegations of "widespread corruption" at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday said he believes the syndicate within the agency is very much alive.

"It is revolting to see the PhilHealth mafia very much active and still in control of the already depleted resources of the agency, made worse by blatant manipulation of its financial statements," Lacson said in a statement.

"They must have mastered the art of influence-peddling as they seem to continue to gain access to the 'corridors of power,'" he added.

Following the resignation of a PhilHealth anti-fraud officer who alleged that there was widespread corruption in the agency, the Senate decided to open an inquiry.

The Senate Committee of the Whole will convene on Tuesday morning to look into the supposed irregularities at the state health insurer.

"We have witnesses who are willing to testify and detail the pervasive and deep-rooted corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp," Lacson said.

The senator believes that familiar names will surface in the upcoming hearing.

"At the outset, I can say that this new Senate investigation will reveal the same cast of characters, or at least a number of them, that we already exposed in a Senate inquiry in August last year after my 'PhilHealth and the Department of Wealth' privilege speech on July 29, 2019," Lacson said.

"I would say, the syndicate is back with a vengeance—or at least its core group has never left," he added.

During a Senate hearing in August last year, former PhilHealth President Roy Ferrer alleged that there were eight regional senior vice presidents who used their influence to back fraudulent schemes in PhilHealth.

Ferrer and other top officials of PhilHealth resigned in June 2019 after President Rodrigo Duterte asked them to leave their posts in the wake of the "ghost dialysis" issue.

Incumbent PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales denied the new allegations of corruption against the state health insurer and welcomed the Senate probe on the matter.

Alleged irregularities in PhilHealth's Interim Reimbursement Mechanism, overpricing of ICT equipment, and financial status, among others, will be discussed in the upcoming hearing. — DVM, GMA News