Go wants probe of PhilHealth mess

Please get to the bottom of this mess. We owe it to the people,” he said

Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said he will make sure that those involved in the fraudulent and corrupt activities in Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will be brought to justice.

During the second Joint Public Hearing on the Philhealth controversy conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon and Health and Demography committees, several key government agencies were called by the Senator to help shed light on various alleged anomalies involving PhilHealth.

Go asked Commission on Audit (CoA) chairperson Michael Aguinaldo to conduct a special audit on PhilHealth fund utilization and submit their findings to the Office of the Ombudsman.

“I have asked help from the Commission on Audit,” Go shared. Addressing Aguinaldo, he said, “Please, Chairman Aguinaldo, I urge you to conduct a special audit and submit your findings to the Ombudsman.”

The Senator also asked the Presidential AntiCorruption Commission and the National Bureau of Investigation, which were represented in the hearing, to conduct their own investigations.

“Please get to the bottom of this mess. We owe it to the people,” he said.

Go told representatives from Department of Justice to file cases against those who will be found responsible for the anomalies. “Let the axe fall on the guilty parties. No one is above the law,” he said.

The Senator called out current PhilHealth president, retired army general Ricardo Morales, and challenged him to institute immediate reforms to put a stop to the anomalies and weed out corruption in the agency.

“Finally, I challenge the leadership of General Morales. I know you are a man of integrity. We trust that you will be able to weed out corruption and the corrupt officials and employees in the agency.” Go added that Morales has a huge responsibility in his hands, especially with the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law.