Bong Go eyes panel to cure PhilHealth ‘ills’
SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go urged President Rodrigo Duterte to create a task force to investigate the anomalies at the state- run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and
“cure” the ills that hounded the agency.
Go said the panel could be led by the Department of Justice with the full support of the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Executive Secretary.
He said the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) might also be tapped to help.
“Hindi lang naman po PhilHealth ang may problem a, al am nat inn am ayi ba pan g mg a a hens ya dyanna kai lang ang gamut in paratu lu yang ma tang ga lang corruption sa kanilangsistema (It is not only PhilHealth that has problems. We know there are other agencies that need to be rid of corruption in their systems),” he said.
“We cannot simply rely on its leadership to cleanse its ranks. We need a whole-of-government approach through a task force that has enough teeth to investigate, audit, prosecute, file charges and put in jail those responsible for these anomalies,” the senator added.
Go said the “perennial issues” surrounding PhilHealth should be addressed to “cure it from systemic corruption.”
“Pera ng taumbayan ang bumubuhay sa Phil Health kay a sig ur ad uh inn at inn a ni piso a yhindi masayang o manakaw. Ibalik natin ito sa tao sa pamamagitan ng mabilis, maayos, at maaasahang serbisyo mu las ai sang gobyernong pal aging nag ma ma las a kit saba wat Pi li pi no( Taxpayers’ money sustains PhilHealth, that is why we should ensure that every peso is accounted for. Government must return to the Filipino people through fast, orderly and dependable service, making sure it shows that it cares),” he explained.
“Itongisyusa PhilHealth, halostaontaon na it o in ii mb es ti ga hanng Sen a do. Na kai lang pa li tn arin ta yong lid erato, pang-a pat na PhilHealth president na ito, at na gk aroonn arin ng board revamp, per omuk hang n as a lo obng ahensya at sa baba talaga ang problema (The Senate has almost investigated PhilHealth yearly. The PhilHealth leadership had changed four times, including a board revamp. It seems it is in the middle level of the agency that is the real problem),” the lawmaker pointed out.
The PACC on Thursday said it supported Go’s recommendation to create a task force that would investigate PhilHealth.
PACC Chairman Dante Jimenez agreed that the various forms of corrupt schemes allegedly perpetrated at PhilHealth “give the impression that some officials in the agency have mastered the art of getting around the system.”
“Anyone who heads PhilHealth is bound to fail because of these people, whose corrupt ways have robbed the agency of billions of pesos,” Jimenez said in a statement sent to The ManilaTimes.
He issued the statement after Go admitted that President Rodrigo Duterte was “exhausted” in addressing the problem of corruption besetting various government agencies but was determined to carry on the fight until the last day of his term.
Earlier, PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica said the commission recommended to the Office of the President the firing and filing of criminal charges against 36 officials of PhilHealth.
“The bulk of the problem at PhilHealth is that the hospitals keep claiming very high receivables that they do not validate. And PhilHealth just pays and pays. It’s like being charged in a restaurant and paying without examining the bill,” Belgica said in a radio interview.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales would not be fired unless there was proof linking him to anomalies.
Meanwhile, Jimenez urged law enforcement agencies and the general public to help report any information related to good governance violations through proper channels.