Brother Eddie says graft in PhilHealth 'abominable', eyes House inquiry

CIBAC party-list Representative Eddie Villanueva on Friday called the level of corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. "abominable" amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent resignation of a PhilHealth official.

Villanueva made the remark after Philhealth anti-fraud legal officer Thorrsson Montes Keith resigned from his post over alleged widespread Philhealth corruption, including rampant and unfair promotion process.

“The recent resignation and crying foul of some PhilHealth officials over widespread corruption in the state health insurer is very abominable,  especially during this pandemic that the government is channeling hefty hundreds of billions of funds to this agency,” Villanueva said in a statement.

“We will file a resolution calling for congressional investigation over the systemic corruption in PhilHealth. We must let the ax fall to whom it must so that people will not be robbed of the services and funds they deserve,” he added.

Villanueva's fellow CIBAC congressman Domeng Rivera said the government should not hesitate to take immediate action on corrupt Philhealth officials.

“The government should take the necessary action to clean, if not revamp PhilHealth to make sure that funds funneled to it will surely be translated to services to the Filipino people,” Rivera said.

PhilHealth President Ricardo Morales earlier dismissed Keith’s corruption claims, saying that there was no evidence showing Philhealth was a corrupt institution.

Morales also belittled Keith’s PhilHealth post, saying the position was non-existent. He said Keith is only acting up because his application for a promotion was turned down.

“Wala namang ganung position [na Anti-Fraud officer]. Pumunta sa akin ‘yan noong isang araw, nag-aaply sa position na 'di siya qualified, gusto palitan si Laborte," Morales said.

"Hindi ko siya kilala, eh position of confidence iyong executive assistant," he added referring to post erstwhile executive assistance Etrobal Laborte left earlier this month.

But even before the COVID-19 pandemic, PhilHealth has already been accused of corruption.

Back in August 2019, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed graft charges against 21 Philhealth officials and employees of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) over their alleged involvement in the processing of "ghost claims" by WellMed dialysis clinic in Quezon City. -NB, GMA News