PhilHealth corruption incurable
ABOLISH IT, DEMANDS ROQUE We need to replace it with a new organization because it’s the only way to eliminate corruption
Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday reiterated his call made a year ago for the abolition of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), citing the massive amount of corruption wafting through the agency.
Roque, a former congressman, also probed the anomalies committed by PhilHealth officials before his appointment to Malacañang.
He first raised the possible abolition of the agency in March last year when the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law was beginning to see light.
PhilHealth was created in 1995 to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines, but it has since been besmirched with various cases of graft and corruption. These include false claims, misrepresentation, ghost dialysis, overpayment of accounts, duping overseas Filipino workers of their medical contributions, upscaling of cases, and other claims that amounted to hundreds of millions of pesos in payments.
For the sake of UHC
“Because of the issue of corruption in PhilHealth, and the amount needed to establish Universal Health Care, we really need to abolish the agency,” Roque said.
“We need to replace it with a new organization because it’s the only way to eliminate corruption. These anomalies are not new in the agency. The Senate had an inquiry about this during the 16th Congress,” he added.
The veteran lawyer, who is also a Daily Tribune columnist, also filed a resolution in 2017 demanding the abolition of PhilHealth.
“I also pushed a probe on PhilHealth because I saw that it would be impossible to take corruption away from it. And the second reason, since the UHC is different from the PhilHealth, it is bound to go bankrupt as it depends on the premium paid by its members,” he stated.
Fake claims
“With the UHC, it is not enough. The health care to be given to the people will be coming from the funds of and for the people,” he added.
Roque’s statement came after the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, led by Sen. Richard Gordon, conducted an inquiry on the fake medical claims and corruption scandal that has again hit the agency.
During the hearing, former PhilHealth acting president Roy Ferrer revealed the existence of an alleged “mafia,” pointing his finger at seven PhilHealth regional officials, five of whom were also present at the Senate.
His accusation was seconded by former PhilHealth board member Roberto Salvador.
They named the members of the alleged PhilHealth mafia as Atty. Valerie Hollero, PhilHealth’s assistant corporate secretary; Atty. William Chavez, vice president for PhilHealth-Region 7; Paolo Johann Perez, Region 4-B vice president; Masidling Alonto Jr., Region 10 vice president; Khaliquzzaman Macabato, ARMM vice president; Dennis Adre, Region 12 vice president; and Jelbert Galicto, CARAGA legal officer.
They all denied the allegation.
Syndicate exists
Roque expressed support for the seven being accused of membership in the alleged “mafia.”
“Is there really a PhilHealth mafia? Yes, there is,” he said. “But I am not going to level anyone of membership to it.”
“But it’s the top officials of the agency who should answer for all the anomalous transactions which have transpired at PhilHealth. Remember, when Dr. Celestina Ma. Jude de la Cerna was on top of PhilHealth, Roy Ferrer and director Salvador have been there already. Check the dates of the cases filed against the alleged members of the mafia. These happened when they testified before the probe called by Congress,” he explained.
Roque also said Hollero’s suspension was a form of harassment: “The charge against her was for modifying her attendance record because she claimed her presence at PhilHealth while she was in Malacañang in a meeting with me about PhilHealth.”
No fear
“These people were not afraid. They did not even ask for testimonial immunity during the hearing,” Roque stated.
He first raised the possible abolition of the agency in March of last year when the Universal Health Care Law was beginning to see light.
“It was Salvador who named them as parts of the alleged mafia. But if they were, if you are to investigate, you should look where the corruption started, who ran the departments involved, where the shenanigans happened. Let us not call those who have been suspended, those terminated, as members of a mafia,” he said.
He also cited a certain Jojo del Rosario, whom he claimed is now the senior vice president of the PhilHealth’s Legal Department, as a name which always surfaces whenever questions of fraud are raised in certain regions.
“It’s always him, Jojo del Rosario, again,” Roque said.
According to Roque, it was Del Rosario who filed the defective case of estafa against WellMed Dialysis Center, which was found to have duped the government’s health fund of P4.2 million. This was for 255 dialysis claims.