Task force investigating 20 more cases over PhilHealth corruption — DOJ

The task force ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate alleged corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is currently looking into 20 more cases, an official said Tuesday.

The task force is conducting a case buildup on 20 additional cases on top of the seven complaints filed by the National Bureau of Investigation before the Office of the Ombudsman, Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento said.

Malcontento told lawmakers at the House of Representatives that there are already six PhilHealth-related complaints pending at the Ombudsman before the task force was created.

The Department of Justice, for its part, is handling seven cases, some of them already filed in court, before the task force started working, he said.

The NBI filed seven more based on the findings of the task force last year, according to Malcontento.

The task force said PhilHealth executives were negligent in their duties in the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM), certain procurements, and accountability. After submitting an initial report to Duterte, the DOJ-led task force created smaller teams that launched more specific investigations.

Last October, the NBI filed graft and malversation complaints against several PhilHealth executives, including former PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales, over alleged anomalies in the state insurer's IRM.

According to PhilHealth, the IRM provides financial assistance to eligible health care institutions affected by "fortuitous events."

In another complaint filed in January, the NBI accused PhilHealth of anomalously releasing IRM funds to a dialysis clinic which allegedly already faces numerous administrative cases. — RSJ, GMA News

Duterte appointed former NBI Director Dante Gierran to head the state insurance corporation after Morales resigned last year.