Task force hopes to file raps vs. implicated PhilHealth execs within 30 days

Published September 17, 2020 03:24 PM By NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS,GMA News

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said the task force that investigated PhilHealth hopes to file criminal complaints against the officials it implicated within the next 30 days.

At a Malacañang press briefing, Guevarra said the task force still has to gather documents that would serve as supporting evidence to the charges they intend to file.

The Guevarra-led Task Force PhilHealth has so far found irregularities in the state health insurer's Interim Reimbursement Mechanism, procurement of ICT equipment, and policy for accountability.

It has recommended the filing of criminal and administrative complaints

against resigned PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Arnel De Jesus, Senior Vice Presidents Jovita Aragona, Renato Limsiaco, Jr., and Israel Francis Pargas; Officer-in-Charge Calixto Gabuya, Jr., and Division Chief Bobby Crisostomo.

Smaller teams with members from different government agencies are still pursuing investigations specifically into PhilHealth's legal and IT sectors and Guevarra said more people may be implicated as a result.

He said the task force may create "a few more" of these composite teams to look into other issues, including financial management.

The secretary said the task force has found a "culture of tolerance" in PhilHealth and "negligence" among its top officials that has cost the government "hundreds of billions of pesos" over many years. —KBK, GMA News

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