Palace welcomes suspension of PhilHealth officials

Malacañang on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to suspend several officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for six months amid corruption allegations hounding the agency.

It was unclear, however, which complaints prompted the issuance of the suspension orders that covered 13 former and incumbent PhilHealth officials.

“Kami naman po’y buo ang tiwala sa opisina ng ating Ombudsman,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a radio interview.

“Umuusad na po ang proseso at hayaan po nating umusad pa lalo at malaman natin ang katotohanan, maparusahan ang mga nagkasala.”

Roque, who has been vocal about his disdain for corrupt practices in PhilHealth, hoped that the Ombudsman’s move would lead to better services.

“Karamihan po sa kanila matitino, mayroon lang talagang mga ‘mafia’ nga na tinatawag,” Roque said.

“At tingin ko naman po ngayong mayroon nang ganiyang suspension eh mas makakausad na nga po, mas makakabigay ng benepisyo ang PhilHealth sa nakakarami dahil mapupunta na po sa mga miyembro at taumbayan ang kaban ng PhilHealth.”

PhilHealth officials led by its president, Ricardo Morales, are facing congressional and Palace-backed investigations on the supposed anomalies in the agency, ranging from fraudulent schemes, the use of the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism to overpricing in the purchase of an IT system. —Virgil Lopez/AOL, GMA News