PhilHealth to pay P930-M debt to PRC
Do not worry, we will pay. It will take time but we will pay. We’ll look for the money
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday assured the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) that the government would pay its P930-million debt to the organization over COVID-19 tests.
In a public address, the President said he would look for funds to settle the debt of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to PRC, noting that “money has always been a problem” for the government.
“Do not worry, we will pay. It will take time but we will pay. We’ll look for the money,” the President said.
Duterte also said the government has been trying to make ends meet after spending billions-worth of funds for its pandemic response.
PRC announced last week that it would halt COVID-19 tests chargeable to PhilHealth, including swab samples from returning Filipinos, mega swabbing facilities and local government units.
The number of samples tested for COVID-19 in Metro Manila dropped by 20 percent after the PRC halted its tests.
The state insurer attributed its failure to pay its debts to procurement issues in the agreement it had with PRC.
PhilHealth spokesman Rey Baleña said the firm hopes to settle the unpaid dues within the month.
In a related development, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Tuesday said that at least 4,000 overseas Filipino workers are now stranded in Metro Manila after PRC stopped conducting swab testing on returning OFW.
In a television briefing, Bello warned that this number is expected to increase as more OFW are returning to the country this holiday season.
“Right now we are talking about 4,000 stranded in Metro Manila,” Bello said.
Earlier, PRC announced its decision to stop conducting swab tests for PhilHealth due to its unpaid obligations of P930 million.
Bello added that it is necessary to immediately resolve the impasse to prevent the increase in the number of stranded OFW.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday stressed that the Philippine government aims to start settling its P1 billion debt to PRC this week in order for their services to government to resume
In a statement, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said that they are targeting to pay the PRC and restart its services within the week.
“The Philippine Red Cross has been a big help, they have addressed almost 80 percent of our needs,” Año said.
This comes as President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he would “look for the money” to settle the PhilHealth unpaid dues to the nongovernment organization.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday lauded President Rodrigo Duterte’s will to clear government debts with the PRC to maintain the COVID-19 testing capacity in the country.
“We thank the President for helping the Red Cross get paid for the service it’s rendering government for its massive covid testing drive all over the country,” Zubiri, a PRC member, said in a statement.
He noted that the PRC has helped the government in upgrading Philippines’ testing capacity through conducting swab tests to arriving OFW and providing standard COVID-19 tests to local government units.