‘92% of ₧15B in questioned Philhealth funds liquidated’
OVER 90 percent of the P15 billion allegedly stolen from the funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) has now been accounted for.
In an online press briefing on Tuesday, Philhealth President and CEO Dante Gierran disclosed that 92 percent of the amount earlier feared lost to several scams and inefficient systems was already liquidated in compliance with the order of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“So only a few [of the monies remain unliquidated]. I will not allow the money of Filipinos to be lost,” Gierran said.
The anti-fraud legal officer of Philhealth, Thorrsson Montes Keith, earlier claimed the amount was supposedly pocketed by some corrupt officials from the state insurer.
Keith resigned from his post last year due to the alleged widespread corruption in Philhealth before the administration of Gierran, who was appointed to head Philhealth in August 2020.
Gierran asserted that Philhealth’s finances remain sustainable for now even after President Duterte ordered it to defer the implementation of its scheduled premium hike this year as employers and workers struggle to cope with the economic slowdown from the Covid-19-related lockdowns.
In fact, he said they still have P132 billion in reserve fund as of November 2020.
“In the event we have difficulty with the collection, we have [a] reserve fund,” Gierran said.
He assured the public the reserve fund will be sufficient to settle the claims of health-care providers, including the Philippine Red Cross and Medical City.
Philhealth recently paid P3.4 billion worth of claims.