Duterte wanted PhilHealth abolished or privatized, Sotto says

President Rodrigo Duterte had wanted PhilHealth either abolished or privatized amid findings of irregularities allegedly involving some of its top officials, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Thursday.

In an early morning message to reporters, Sotto said he and Duterte had a meeting Wednesday night where the controversy regarding PhilHealth was discussed.

"He (Duterte) said he wanted PhilHealth abolished or privatized but I said it might be better to wait a few months and see how the new admin performs," Sotto said.

The Senate leader was referring to Dante Gierran, the former National Bureau of Investigation director who was appointed PhilHealth president and CEO replacing Ricardo Morales.

Morales, who was among the PhilHealth officials recommended for charges by the government task force that probed the state insurer, resigned in August over health concerns.

A measure authorizing the President to reorganize PhilHealth, including the privatization of its segments, to make it more effective in delivering services to the public has been filed at the House of Representatives.

Malacañang said the President had also discussed the privatization or abolition of PhilHealth with his Cabinet secretaries.

“Ang paninindigan ni Presidente either i-abolish or i-privatize ‘yan. At sinabi naman po niya ‘yan sa pagpupulong niya sa ilang miyembro ng IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases),” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing.

Meanwhile, in the same meeting, Sotto said Duterte agreed to his proposal to have the secretary of the Department of Finance to head PhilHealth's board instead of the secretary of the Department of Health.

"I explained that PhilHealth is an insurance corp and not a Health entity," Sotto said.

Sotto's proposal was contained in Senate Bill No. 1829, which he filed on September 14. The bill seeks to amend Section 13 of the Universal Health Care law.

Asked if Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was mentioned in the meeting, Sotto said, "Hindi. Only PhilHealth. I was ready to talk about it but he (Duterte) did not bring the name up."

Sotto had earlier said he was "dumbfounded" that Duque was not among those recommended to face charges in connection with the alleged anomalies at PhilHealth by the Department of Justice-led task force.

After 28 hours worth of hearing, the Senate Committee of a Whole has recommended that both Morales and Duque, along with several others, should face charges over anomalies in PhilHealth.

The Senate probe delved into the alleged anomalous implementation of the interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM), overpricing of IT equipment, manipulation of the state health insurer's financial statements, and snail-paced resolution of pending legal cases.

As Health secretary, Duque is the ex-officio chair of PhilHealth. He has denied that he's been negligent when it comes to his position in PhilHealth.

Aside from Sotto, also present in the meeting with Duterte were House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, and House Majority Leader Martin, and Senator Bong Go, the former Special Assistant to the President.

Go said one of the topics discussed was the amendment of certain penal laws to increase the penalties, specifically length of imprisonment of certain crimes.

"Longer sentences will lead to or will be effective in lowering crimes," Go said in a separate message to reporters. —with Virgil Lopez, GMA News