DEFRAUDED! PhilHealth Officials liable on ?15B Graft; Budget To End By 2022

Katherine Sebastian Cunanan

Great dismay can be felt as the “crime of the year” despite COVID-19 pandemic has been named by Thorrsson Montes Keith, former Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) official and whistle-blower on the alleged ?15 billion fraud in the agency. Simultaneously, due to its 10-year actuarial life direly cut for expenses this crisis, PhilHealth is expected to collapse by 2022.

Keith being resigned PhilHealth anti-fraud legal officer revealed that a “mafia” where all the agency’s executive committee are involved have took part in the said widespread corruption via various schemes. At the same time, Nerissa Santiago, acting senior vice president for actual services stressed that by 2021, PhilHealth will be in red alert already and it’s only one year remaining in terms of the actuarial life.

Santiago dropped numbers on the estimated net operating loss in 2020 as ?90 billion while ?147 billion on 2021 if the pandemic continues. But Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon noted that during the first quarter of this year the reported loss was only ?2 billion.

Keith pointed out that the projected amount of stolen money came from unauthorized release of IRM or Interim Reimbursement Mechanism — budget designed for “fortuitous events” like pandemic, hospitals intended to treat COVID-19 patients were paid three months in advance and discrepancies on supposed to be purchased IT systems. Alejando Cabading, PhilHealth board member and certified public accountant stressed that he clashed the proposed ?2.1 billion allocation on technology resources which also lacks approval from Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales, as disclosed by Keith, ordered him once to go after Greco Belgica, Commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission to “massage” pending investigation on overpriced testing kits for COVID-19. Cabading also said that his interrogation on the aforementioned information technology project have caused him and Morales to have heated exchange at an online meeting.

In the wake of Keith’s crucial disclosure, he stated his delayed salary and hazard pay since he began to delve on the agency’s officers. He even exposed the complexity of this health care crisis as he cited in his resignation letter on July 23 his objection mandatory payment of contributions by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and unfair promotion process.

In the Senate hearing, Senator Grace Poe asked why some hospitals in Bicol and Visayas region were provided hundreds of millions of pesos under the RIM wherein some of these healthcare institutions were not accredited and had low risk or zero COVID-19 cases. Senator Panfilo Lacson shown his suspicion on Morales regarding the release of ?231 million to 48 dialysis centers and four maternity clinics. He pronounced that documents are saying B. Braun Avitum Philippines, a dialysis center, was able to gather a worth of P45 million for five of its branches from April 23 to May 4, few weeks after its requests.

On August 12, three PhilHealth officials left the hearing in the House of Representatives because of health reasons. The state-run insurance company is currently facing variety of investigation.

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The author is a Teacher II at Pampanga High School