Duterte vows to endorse cases vs corrupt PhilHealth execs

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to go after the officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) linked to the alleged corruption and anomalies within the agency, saying he himself would endorse the cases against them.

In a public address aired on Tuesday, Duterte said he would dedicate the remaining two years of his term to put corrupt PhilHealth officials to jail.

“I assure you I will be the one to endorse the case to the prosecuting office. Ako ang magpirma mismo. If we have through with the investigation, allow the Secretary of Justice to complete his investigation and his signature on the endorsement will be accompanied by my signature,” Duterte said.

“Iyong PhilHealth ang dapat imbestigahan at dapat i-prosecute lahat at dapat ikulong. Kung iyan na lang ang trabaho ko sa maiwan ko sa dalawang taon, iyan na rin ang gagawain ko. One of the things that — few things that I can do in the remaining two years of my term, uubusin ko ito ‘yung panahon ko to work on the cases for people who are involved in the PhilHealth,” he added.

Duterte had  ordered the Department of Justice (DoJ) to form an inter-agency task force to investigate the corruption allegations against some PhilHealth officials.

The task force is also mandated to make an audit of the PhilHealth finances and conduct lifestyle checks on the state insurer’s officials and employees.

Under the terms of the President’s directive, during the course of the investigation, if warranted, the panel may recommend to Duterte the imposition of preventive suspension on any PhilHealth official to ensure the unhampered conduct of the investigation.

Aside from the DoJ-led task force, the state insurer is also facing a separate investigation by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and congressional inquiries.

The Senate is recommending the filing of appropriate charges, including malversation, against PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales and other high-ranking officials over the alleged irregularities, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said.

PhilHealth has been under fire in recent weeks after its former anti-fraud legal officer Thorrsson Montes Keith tendered his resignation after learning about alleged illegal schemes in the agency tasked to shoulder healthcare costs for Filipinos.

But PhilHealth, in a recent statement, denied its officials pocketed the funds, insisting that what Keith said during a Senate hearing had no basis.

Source: TheManila Times