Duterte says he won’t abolish PhilHealth despite corruption allegations

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday night that he will not abolish the scandal-plagued Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), marking a change from his previous plan to end the agency’s existence.

Duterte said last month that he would ask Congress to pass a law to abolish PhilHealth amid the alleged anomalies hounding the state-run health insurer.

After the President disclosed this to the public, at least 40 senior PhilHealth officials left their posts. Some officials were also suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman due to pending charges.

“‘Yung PhilHealth wala na, skeletal ang na-remain diha. Talagang hindi ko bubuwagin ‘yan because hindi madali, it’s not easy really to create another one,” Duterte said in a taped address aired on Tuesday.

“I think by this time marami na kasing na-suspend.”

Sought for clarification on Duterte’s latest remarks, Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said on Tuesday that the President took note of PhilHealth president Dante Gierran’s efforts to stamp out corruption in the agency.

“Let’s just say na inaantay pa po niya ‘yung mga kasong isasampa pa sa iba pang mga personnel at officials ng PhilHealth. Pero kumpyansa po siya na dahil marami ngang nag-resign na at maraming na-suspend na eh meron nang malaking pagbabago diyan sa PhilHealth,” Roque said at a news conference.

“Malaki na po ang nagawa natin sa paglinis ng PhilHealth. Ipagpapatuloy na lang po iyan.”

In August, Duterte formed an inter-agency body to probe the corruption allegations in PhilHealth.

Two months later, the panel, through the National Bureau of Investigation, filed graft and malversation charges against former PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales and other officials over the alleged anomalies in the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism.

The Department of Justice-led task force has said more charges will be filed in the future. —KBK, GMA News