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PhilHealth to function unhampered despite suspension of execs — Gierran
By TED CORDERO,GMA NewsPhilippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president and CEO Dante Gierran on Thursday said the suspension of the agency’s eight executives will not affect the state insurer’s mandate and services.
“PhilHealth assures its members and stakeholders that its mandate and services shall continuously proceed unhampered notwithstanding the challenges that it is currently facing as part of the necessary reforms needed to be undertaken to further improve its services toward the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all Filipinos,” Gierran said in a statement.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires earlier ordered the suspension of eight PhilHealth executives
over the alleged anomalous release of P2.7 billion worth of funds under the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism policy.Martires’ suspension order stemmed from the grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation in connection with the release the PhilHealth funds.
Those ordered suspended include PhilHealth Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Arnel de Jesus, PhilHealth COO for Fund Management Sector Renato Limsiaco, PhilHealth Senior Vice President Dr. Israel Paragas of Health Finance Policy Sector and five others.
“PhilHealth Management acknowledges the recent Order of the Office of the Ombudsman putting several of its Executive Officers and Personnel under preventive suspension for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. We shall abide and implement the suspension Orders accordingly,” Gierran said.
“PhilHealth Management maintains the constitutional rights of its Officers and Personnel on its presumption of innocence until proven otherwise,” he said.
The NBI accused the PhilHealth officials of releasing IRM funds on questionable grounds because of the following reasons:
- Presidential Proclamation declaring state of calamity throughout the Philippines due to COVID-19 does not include grant of lRM fund
- IRM disbursement in the form of cash advances does not comply with the Commission on Audit rules on cash advances
- the order for the deferment of the liquidation of funds was issued without providing specific period to do the same;
- a memorandum issued July 2020 giving option to PhilHealth Regional Offices regarding matters of liquidation of the IRM fund
- the cash advances to the health care institutions were made prior to the effectivity of PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-007 on June 11, 2020 authorizing IRM release and
- PhilHealth officials concerned accorded private entities an unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence in the grant of the IRM funds by failure to check the track record of applicant in terms of rendering health care services prior to approval of the application
- PhilHealth Board Resolution ratifying the IRM nationwide due to COVID-19 was issued sometime in April 2020 or almost a month after Circular 2020-0007 was released, making its effectivity date to retroact on March 2020 for the Board to legitimize the Memorandum of Agreements and IRM releases on March 23 and 25, 2020 to some favored health care institutions and
- IRM funds which were appropriated specifically to address the adverse effects of COVID-19 diseases,were disbursed to pre-determined health care facilities, some of which are dialysis centers, maternity health care facilities and infirmaries that neither admit nor cater to COVID-19 patients.
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“We trust that the Honorable Office of the Ombudsman will accordingly observe objectivity, justice and fairness, and allow our concerned Officers and personnel the due process to properly explain and defend themselves,” Gierran said. — RSJ, GMA News