Where does the whiff lead to?
We take the cue of course from President Duterte himself when he said four years ago: “One whiff of corruption, you’re out.” Let us test Malacañang’s olfactory sense— if the China virus has not dulled it yet.
First of all, the Philhealth tangle would not have gone public were it not for the fact that a board meeting ended in a shouting match. The next day saw resignations and mudslinging aplenty: Thorrsson Montes Keith and Alejandro Cabading against Ricardo Morales, Morales against both.
Above all else, take note of the background of these men. Morales is from Davao City, an appointee of President Duterte. Cabading is an unknown, but not quite. He was appointed to the Philhealth board for his work as a certified public accountant. How did he get there? Here’s the key: He led the senatorial campaign of Bong Go in Zamboanga City and Basilan (he was born in Calugusan, Lamitan City). Two appointees, one of the President and the other of his most influential lieutenant/man Friday/heir apparent, are now pulling at each other’s hair. That is odd. Is there infighting among Mr. Duterte’s own men that appears to be over spoils?
Next, take note how Malacañang reacted to the stink. It began with Mr. Duterte’s instant defense of Morales that was made only a day (Aug. 5) after the Senate launched its hearing (Aug. 4) on the Philhealth mess.
On Aug. 11, Tuesday, the hearings revealed the following: Interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM) funds released to the Davao region amounted to a whopping aggregate of P535 million (P326 million to Southern Philippines Medical Center, P209 million to Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City). The region had a record of 1,650 COVID-19 cases last week. Compare that to the Philippine General Hospital, the country’s most strategic institution fighting the pandemic in Metro Manila which alone had 81,745 cases last week: P263 million.
On Aug. 12, Wednesday, Harry Roque’s defense was blitzkrieg short and fast: Nothing irregular in SPMC receiving the highest IRM. In truth, Republic Act No. 11326 that Mr. Duterte signed only in April 2019 made SPMC the country’s largest hospital by increasing its bed capacity from 1,200 to 1,500. Its chief of 12 years, Leopoldo Vega, was appointed undersecretary of health last June.
But here are the conflicting claims. Roque said the IRMS have nothing to do with the China virus. That’s not what Philhealth and Morales said. In March, Philhealth posted on its website the release of the IRMS “which will provide health care providers with the much needed liquidity to adequately respond to the pandemic.” Morales was even quoted as saying: “These are extraordinary times that require extraordinary measures, and this arrangement will surely be of help in President Duterte’s resolve to avert the spread of the virus.” Vega added to the litany of defenses by referring to the SPMC as the “only COVID-19 referral institute in the region.” It is classic Davao City reductionism of Mindanao. In truth, some other Mindanao hospitals are also COVID-19 referral centers.
Also on Aug. 12, Roque made a second defense of Morales. “The President is really a kind person. Especially now that Morales is sick, he will not add pressure to General Morales.”
The following day, Aug. 13, Thursday, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, he of the Freudian-slip pattern, telegraphed a punch—the revelation that pro-duterte online trolls have been attacking the Senate hearings on the Philhealth mess. It must be a measure of panic that the trolls’ current enemy is Sen. Panfilo Lacson, an ally of the President and who does an occasional display of filibustering.
If trolls are under orders, algorithmic or otherwise, to create an exponential deodorant to hide the Philhealth corruption odor, the source of the stink must not be far from where their bottoms sit. Because what is the meaning of all the outpouring of money in Davao? Obviously the whiff leads to the garbage dump. ---------------