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Go, Hontiveros want special bodies to look into PhilHealth irregularities


At least two senators on Wednesday asked for the creation of oversight and investigation bodies to help curb the various issues hounding the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, chair of the Senate committee on health, said he recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte to create a task force that would focus on investigating alleged irregularities within the state health insurer.

He said it could be composed of the Department of Justice, Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit, Office of the Executive Secretary, and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

"Despite the ongoing efforts to reform PhilHealth, it remains to be tainted with allegations of systemic corruption, particularly in the middle to lower levels of its organization," Go said.

"We cannot simply rely on its leadership to cleanse its ranks. We need a ‘whole-of-government’ approach through a Task Force that has enough ‘teeth’ to investigate, audit, prosecute, file charges and put in jail those responsible for these anomalies," he added.

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros said it is high-time that the Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry, and PhilHealth finally convene the anti-overpricing body. 

Such was mandated by the Universal Health Care Law but has been supposedly neglected.

This Independent Price Negotiation Board would be of great help in monitoring a standardized treatment of COVID-19 in the country.

"Masisigurado ng anti-overpricing body na standardized ang mga presyo ng mga bibilin nating mga gamot, personal protective equipment o PPE, testing kit, at iba pang mga pangaganilangan laban sa COVID-19," Hontiveros said.

She said this mechanism would prevent "overspending, over reimbursing, overfunding."

'Special audit'

Senator Sonny Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, pointed out that Congress has appropriated around P400 billion for PhilHealth in less than 10 years.

Angara believes that a special audit in PhilHealth's funds is needed as he stressed that the various fraud and scams showed its weak institutional checks and balances.

Such audit has basis under the Universal Health Care law and GOCC Governance Act, according to the senator.

"A special audit was what COA (Commission on Audit) did in case of Napoles NGOs/PDAF scam back in 2011/12. [It] Revealed public and private sector individuals colluding," he said on Twitter.

"Philhealth is losing money because of collusion between corrupt officials and hospitals/clinics who pay. Insurance fraud isn't new," he added.

Meanwhile, Senator Leila De Lima said PhilHealth officials involved in alleged irregularities must be fired and prosecuted.

"Dapat kasuhan at ipakulong! Kung kailan pa nasa panahon tayo na umaasa lang ang ating mga kababayan sa tulong ng PhilHealth laban sa COVID-19 at nakaabang na sa implementasyon ng Universal Health Law, saka pa talaga nagnakaw itong mga mandarambong o mandurugas na ito. Karumal-dumal!" she said in a separate statement.

"Hindi ba kayo inuusig ng konsensya niyo? O wala na talaga kayong konsensya? O alam niyo lang naman na hindi aaksyunan ni Duterte ang kawalanghiyaan niyo laban sa ating mga kababayan?" she added.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, various issues on overpriced IT equipment, questionable implementation of the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism, and allegedly manipulated financial statements were tackled.

Malacanang, however, said President Rodrigo Duterte will not fire PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales unless there is evidence that the latter is involved in corruption. —LDF, GMA News

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