'BAKA MAY SUMISIPSIP LANG'

Zubiri sees no link between Duterte, P326-M IRM fund for Davao City hospital

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday said it is unlikely that President Rodrigo Duterte had a hand on why a Davao City hospital, Southern Philippines Medical Center, got the lion's share of PhilHealth's releases under the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM).

"I don't think the President had asked them to put the money in Davao, those Davao City hospitals, I don't think he'll do that," he said in an interview on ANC.

"Baka mayroong nagsisipsip lang kay Pangulo, maybe that's one," he added.

Duterte had served as Davao City mayor for many terms before he was elected president in 2016. The city is currently led by his children, with Sara Duterte as mayor and Baste Duterte as vice mayor.

Zubiri said the P326 million IRM fund that SPMC received is justifiable because it shouldered a lot of COVID-19 testing and treatment in the region during the onset of the pandemic when surrounding areas are not capable yet.

"Maybe they have accumulated over time a lot of expenses and they're being paid that amount. It's justifiable," he said.

Nonetheless, the senator underscored that there should really be a mechanism on where PhilHealth should release the funds under the IRM for COVID-19 response.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, said that he has yet to see a justification for such releases in the President's hometown.

"I have not seen the justification but just in terms of being surprised, yes I am surprised," he said in a separate virtual interview.

"Maybe it can be justified, I haven't seen though at this point how this happened," he added.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Drilon asked why his region, Western Visayas, was lagging behind in terms of receiving IRM releases. PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales said the bottleneck is in the regional office.

Next to SPMC, UP-Philippine General Hospital in Manila got the second highest IRM releases amounting to P263 million, followed by the Davao Regional Medical Center with P209 million. —KBK, GMA News