Task force recommends interim management for PhilHealth amid probe

The task force looking into allegations of corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has recommended the creation of a committee that will manage the state insurer while investigations are underway.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who heads the task force, said they made the suggestion considering the "apparent systemic problems that will be difficult to resolve if the people who have an interest to keep the present structure and systems will remain in their present positions."

Guevarra earlier said that the Governance Commission for GOCCs could create an interim management committee for PhilHealth upon the direction of the Office of the President.

In a message to reporters, Guevarra said the GCG is mandated by law to make organizational changes in GOCCs, including PhilHealth.

"So we are recommending to the president that the GCG be directed to consider this measure, among others, as part of overall efforts to strengthen PhilHealth," the secretary said.

He said the details, such as who will comprise the proposed committee, will be determined by the GCG itself.

PhilHealth is facing scrutiny over allegations of widespread corruption in the agency. Both chambers of Congress have initiated inquiries and President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Guevarra to lead a separate investigation.

The Office of the Ombudsman has preventively suspended 13 PhilHealth officials. —KBK, GMA News