Senate wants PhilHealth exec to produce documents on ‘overpriced’ ICT equipment

The Senate has ordered a PhilHealth official to produce supposedly hidden documents in connection with the agency's intended procurement of allegedly overpriced ICT equipment.

At a hearing on Tuesday, Senator Panfilo Lacson said pages had been ripped from a document regarding an award for the purchase of overpriced network switches.

He said PhilHealth in 2019 awarded a P4.8-million contract for 15 units of CISCO catalyst switches when the market price was just over P939,000. He said this would have led to P3.878 million in government losses if it had pushed through.

He said the procurement did not end up getting implemented.

"As a matter of fact, I think one of the board members, sino 'yung... kasi napirmahan na ito eh, and then medyo pinunit 'yung mga pages na pirmado kasi alam niyang sasabit," Lacson said.

The senator said overpricing of this scale was a "blatant" and "brazen" act of corruption.

Resigned PhilHealth anti-fraud officer Thorsson Montes Keith accused Senior Vice President Augustus de Villa of ripping the said pages. He claimed that De Villa knew the documents were anomalous.

But De Villa, a retired military general, said he does not remember ripping the pages.

"Noong time sir noon, wala po akong natandaang pinunit pero tinago ko po kasi, kasi I was informed by Col. Laborte na mataas nga raw sir 'yung presyo...sabi ko 'Ay, pagka ganyan medyo malabo 'yan,'" he said at the hearing.

He said he had been very careful in matters including procurement in his 30 years in the military.

He said he believes the documents still exist but that he does not remember where they are. He said he will "try to find out."

Upon motion by Lacson, Senate President Vicente Sotto III ordered the Senate secretariat to issue a subpoena duces tecum for the documents.

"This is not the first time that an IT equipment procurement is fraught with anomaly," Lacson said.

He said the Commission on Audit had flagged PhilHealth for previously purchased network switches that were found unused and still in their boxes during inspection.

He said these 24 network switches had been procured for P74.3 million. — RSJ, GMA News