A lawyer said members would not be able to claim their contributions if in case PhilHealth would be bankrupt and shut down by 2022.
A PhilHealth executive recently announced that the agency could collapse in 2022 because of its depleting funds due to pandemic. At the same time, the alleged billions of funds are wasted on corruption.
In GMA News “Unang Hirit,” resident lawyer Atty. Gaby Concepcion said, PhilHealth members would not get anything when state-owned insure closes.
PhilHealth seems to be no different from some corporations that went bankrupt and closed, and their clients have not been paid.
“Kung walang gagawin ang ating pamahalaan kung ang mangyayari lamang eh wala…hindi na ito naiba pa sa mga dating korporasyon na sabihin na lang natin sa korporasyon ng educational plans na kahit may mga obligasyon o utang pa sa mga nagbayad, yung mga magulang na talagang nag-save at nag-invest, eh naiwang nakanganga na lamang yung mga magulang dahil nawala nga yung mga eductional companies na ito,” she said.
(If our government does nothing, it is no different from the former corporations like the corruption in educational plans that even if they still have obligations or debts to those who paid, the parents who really saved and invested, were left speechless because these educational companies have disappeared.)
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“Dahil wala ring guarantee ang pamahalaan na isalba ang PhilHealth, hindi gaya halimbawa ng ibang kompanya, halimbawa yung Pag-Ibig na nakalagay sa batas na may guarantee ang government natin na dapat maibalik ang pera ng mga naghulog dito,” added Atty. Gaby.
(Because the government also does not have a guarantee to save PhilHealth, unlike the example of other companies. For instance, Pag-Ibig. In the law, our government has a guarantee that the money of those who contributed should be returned.)
For hospitals that have not been paid by PhilHealth, the Universal Healthcare Act stipulates that the government must provide a subsidy to fill the agency’s shortcomings. However, it is only available in other aspects of the budget.
But officials guilty of graft and corruption who are responsible for the loss of PhilHealth funds may face charges.