Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner Greco Belgica said at least 36 PhilHealth officials should be fired or face raps for padding of claims in hospitals.
Belgica said PhilHealth was not able to verify the information on receivables given by hospitals, which resulted in the padding of claims.
The PACC recommended the dismissal of the officials involved and the filing of charges before the Office of the Ombudsman, said Belgica.
“We initially submitted 31 names. Now we have an additional five names, so it’s now 36,” he told Teleradyo in Filipino.
“The bulk of the problem of PhilHealth stems from the claims of hospitals. The receivables are so high, and (PhilHealth does) not validate it… PhilHealth acts like an (automated teller machine). It just releases payments. It’s like getting a bill from a restaurant, but we are not looking at the bill,” he added.
Belgica did not name the PhilHealth officials but said more would be added as the probes move forward.
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Morales stays
As the Senate continues to investigate the alleged widespread corruption inside PhilHealth, Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte would not fire Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) President and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales unless there is evidence linking the retired general to corruption.
“That’s really up to him. I am not in the position to tell him what to do. The President has said that he will not fire him unless there is evidence, and I think the Senate now is in the process of documenting this evidence,” Roque said.
“At the same time, there is a parallel investigation being conducted by Undersecretary [Jesus Melchor] Quitain.”
“I think after the evidence are unearthed, the President will move and do the correct thing,” Roque added.
Morales was appointed as the President of PhilHealth in June 2019 amid the issue of alleged funding of dialysis treatment for patients who already died.
Senators, meanwhile, said they already gathered enough evidence from the Senate hearing on the alleged widespread corruption at PhilHealth to file charges against the agency’s president Ricardo Morales and other officials.