P15B ‘accurate loss estimate’
PhilHealth collects over P70 billion from contributions of members and employers and obtained an infusion of P71 billion from this year’s national budget derived from sin taxes to implement the Universal Health Care Law
The stolen P15 billion allegedly pocketed by officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was
an “accurate” estimate, Malacañang said Wednesday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the claims by lawyer Thorrsson Montes Keith, the state-run agency’s former anti-fraud legal officer, were neither exaggerated nor understated since he is not the sole person who can testify that fraudulent schemes occur in the agency.
“We also had a source who said that for a period of time, PhilHealth lost P174 billion more or less. That is why if you look at what Attorney Keith said, perhaps he is giving us an accurate estimate because he is not the only one who says that,” Roque said.
“So, as someone who is familiar with a pattern of fraud perpetuated in the PhilHealth, I’d say that’s convincing because I had another source who said more or less, that’s how much money is being lost annually,” he added.
During a Senate hearing Wednesday, Keith alleged that a “mafia” was behind corruption in the state-run agency.
Roque called this “unacceptable,” noting that the firm should provide relief to COVID-19 patients amid the ongoing pandemic.
The Palace official also expressed disappointment on PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales since he did not elaborate during the Senate hearing the efforts he had made to weed out corruption in the state insurer.
He also criticized Morales over his “attempt to destroy the credibility” of Keith by saying that the lawyer was not an anti-fraud officer.
“I have no evidence that he is corrupt himself. But when he was placed there by the President to replace the previous board and the previous president because of the WellMed scam, our expectations are that he will take concrete steps to get rid of corruption,” Roque said.
“Yesterday, what worried me is that he admitted that corruption was still rampant and I did not hear steps he has taken to remove corruption in the agency. That, to me, is the most worrisome,” Roque added.
PhilHealth collects over P70 billion from contributions of members and employers and obtained an infusion of P71 billion from this year’s national budget derived from sin taxes to implement the Universal Health Care Law.
Roque also expressed confidence that the truth will come out in the investigations launched by the Senate, the Office of the President, and the Philippine Anti-Corruption Commission on allegations of corruption in PhilHealth.