DOH on alleged hospital kickbacks: We'll cooperate fully with Ombudsman, DOJ

The Department of Health said they are ready to cooperate fully with the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the investigation into alleged inflated hospital charges.

In an interview on Thursday, DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Albert Domingo said that any inflation or overpricing of hospital fees are crimes and can be considered as falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code.

“Ang pananaw namin dyan, hindi kasi lahat ng hospital honest… Maraming honest, mas maraming honest pero meron talagang mga pasaway,” he said.

(From our perspective, not all hospitals are honest… A lot of them are, most of them are honest but there really are some disobedient ones.)

“Kami, natutuwa kami na onboard ng Ombudsman, at malamang sa malamang kung yan nag-red flag na sa Ombudsman, baka ang DOJ makiging interesado rin. We will cooperate fully,” he added.

(For us, we are happy that the Ombudsman is onboard, and most likely, if the Ombudsman had red-flagged it then the DOJ might also be interested. We will cooperate fully.)

Domingo said the DOH is ready to use “the full extent of the law” to ensure that whoever is responsible will be held accountable.

“‘Pag nalaman natin [kung sino ang mga may sala], we will use the full extent of the law that is available to us para ma-prosecute and under due process, makulong ang kailangan makulong,” he said.

(Once we find out [who is at fault], we will use the full extent of the law that is available to us to prosecute them under due process.)

Earlier in a radio interview, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla criticized “bloated” emergency room charges in hospitals.

Senator JV Ejercito also echoed the complaints, stating that PhilHealth coverage was also being taken advantage of.

“Dapat ang private hospitals, mabantayan nang husto ng government ‘yan,” Remulla said.

(Private hospitals must be closely monitored by the government.)

“Kulang tayo sa judicial precedents sa malpractice at saka wrongful behavior ng medical field,” he added.

(We lack judicial precedents for malpractice and wrongful behavior in the medical field.)  — RSJ, GMA News