Win back trust, PhilHealth dared
Senators wanted to get to the bottom of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) scam by flushing out the grafters, which they consider should address the credibility problem of the state health insurer.
Senators also revealed that an internal conflict involving graft within the organization led to the allegations on the existence of a syndicate inside the agency.
Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon also urged the Commission on Audit (CoA) to
conduct a special financial review on the state-owned health insurance provider.
Drilon questioned the allegations thrown by former PhilHealth acting president Roy Ferrer and former board member Roberto Salvador on the eightman “mafia” who allegedly have influenced the operations and financial deals within the agency.
Go poses challenge
It was Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go who dared PhilHealth to take steps to regain the trust of the people. Go is in Davao City for the Kadayawan Festival and to assist victims of a recent fire.
About 150 houses in Isla Verde, Barangay 23-C were destroyed in the blaze.
“I challenge the new management of PhilHealth to check on these anomalies and irregularities,” Go said regarding the alleged fraudulent claims, ghost payments and upcasing or misdeclaration of clinical diagnosis in the agency.
Go, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, wanted to get answers from the previous management of PhilHealth about its alleged failure to settle its financial obligations to private hospitals.
“There is connivance between the officials and the hospitals,” the senator added. He confirmed that they will conduct another joint committee hearing with the Blue Ribbon Committee next week.
Protect people’s money
“Don’t allow these anomalies to happen because the people’s money is involved here. A lot of people are getting sick. Why do they need to beg when that is their money?” Go said.
He also stressed that people are fed up with excuses, so the government should provide a solution to the issue.
The senator stressed that to continue the operation of hospitals, the remittances must be submitted by PhilHealth.
Accompanying Go to provide government interventions were representatives from the National Housing Authority, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
False accusations
During the Senate inquiry, Salvador named 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; Jelbert Galicto, CARAGA legal officer; and dismissed Soccsksargen regional vice president Dr. Miriam Grace Pamonag as being part of the mafia.
Surprisingly, all of those tagged, except Pamonag, were present during the hearing.
They argued Ferrer’s and Salvador’s accusations were false and that the former PhilHealth officials were picking on them after they testified in a House inquiry on the massive fraud in the agency during Ferrer’s tenure.
Hollero said “absurd” administrative cases were filed against them for “standing for truth.”
“First of all, the tagged mafia disputes (the allegations against them). It is not clear. Also, the cases charged against them are vague. For example, it is hard to connect the anomalies if the case that was filed was only the alleged timecard violation… It is not clear for me. The principal charges are based on their non-conformity to the reshuffle. They must come out with more credible evidences than that,” Drilon, a former Justice secretary, said.
To continue the operation of hospitals, the remittances must be submitted by PhilHealth.