DOJ: Roof leak in PhilHealth regional office caused by clogged drain

The roof leak in a regional office of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was caused by clogged drainage, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Initial reports of the DOJ, as cited on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Saturday, pointed to a cloth clogging the drainage as the cause of rainwater leaking into the offices of PhilHealth Region 1 (Ilocos Region).

The report indicated that the records were saved, but computers and other equipment were damaged.

Amid claims of corruption within the state insurer, PhilHealth's Cental Office said the leak was not deliberate.

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

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

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