PhilHealth SVP for legal sector Del Rosario quits post amid fund mess

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) senior vice president for the legal sector Rodolfo del Rosario Jr. has tendered his irrevocable resignation from his post.

"I tendered my irrevocable resignation effective August 24, 2020," he said in a mobile message.

In a report on Dobol B sa News TV, dzBB’s Mark Makalalad, citing Del Rosario’s Facebook post, said the official relinquished his post since the trial by publicity that congressional inquiries on alleged corruption in PhilHealth, coupled with the six-month preventive suspension slapped by the Office of the Ombudsman, put him in so much agony.

“The past days has been so grueling and stressful. The character assassination, trial by publicity, and relentless persecution has left me in so much agony. My six-month suspension was too much to bear,” Del Rosario said in his Facebook post.

PhilHealth has been under multiple investigations over its release of P15 billion advance payments to hospitals and health care institutions amid COVID-19 of which only P1 billion was accounted for, alleged overpriced IT project, overpayments of reimbursements to hospitals, among others.

“As I cannot afford to be unemployed for the next six months and understanding that the Corporation would need and SVP (Senior Vice President) Legal in these trying times, I have tendered my irrevocable resignation effective August 24, 2020. This was a painful decision,” Del Rosario added.

The PhilHealth official confirmed to Makalalad, through text message and call, the content of his Facebook post.

A day ahead of the state insurer official’s resignation going public, Undersecretary Markk Perete of the Department of Justice (DOJ)—citing testimony from Del Rosario—said that the PhilHealth board approved the payment of P688 million in late claims despite its being illegal.

Perete also said PhilHealth spent double by approving the claims of hospitals that had already been reimbursed in advance under the interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM).

PhilHealth and its officials are under investigation over the agency's alleged overpriced purchase of an information technology system worth over P2 billion.

In the previous Senate hearing, resigned anti-fraud officer Thorsson Montes Keith claimed that the PhilHealth "mafia," which he said was composed of the executive committee, stole some P15 billion through fraudulent schemes such as the IRM.

PhilHealth, in a statement, has denied such claims and has since suspended the IRM. — with Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/AOL/BM, GMA News