THE Senate Committee of the Whole’s scheduled second hearing on alleged fraud and corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will not be derailed by the absence of key agency officials who sent medical certificates to senators at the weekend saying they were indisposed for Tuesday, August 11.
“It will push through as scheduled,” Senate President Tito Sotto told BusinessMirror over the weekend, even after his office received medical certificates on behalf of three PhilHealth officials summoned to appear at Tuesday’s inquiry.
Among those who submitted medical certificates to the office of Senate President Sotto, asking to be excused from Tuesday’s hearing, is PhilHealth President-CEO Ricardo Morales, whom an oncologist at Cardinal Santos Medical Center said required chemotherapy for lymphoma.
On Sunday afternoon, Morales sent word he was still willing to join Tuesday’s hearing, but asked to be spared from making a personal appearance at the Senate premises, as he is an immunocompromised patient.
Reacting to the notices sent by beleaguered agency officials claiming to be ill, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, one of the key movers of the inquiry, said: “Their failure to attend Tuesday’s hearing is their loss, not the Senate’s, simply because they won’t be there to respond to new issues to be brought up by resource persons and some new incriminating documents in our possession.”
Lacson made the remarks amid a pending request by resigned PhilHealth antifraud legal officer Thorrsson Keith for him to be granted immunity from suit during his testimony, and for security, saying he had felt threatened after making his revelations.
Keith and another official, board member Alejandro Cabading, had made explosive revelations against ranking agency officials, with Keith telling senators in last week’s hearing that a “mafia” in the agency could have stolen some P15 billion through various means.
Guevarra: All anomalies included
On Sunday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said all investigations into various PhilHealth anomalies would be expedited, including the P154 billion in bogus claims for dialysis and other medical treatment of health-care company WellMed.
Guevarra was directed by President Duterte to lead a task force to investigate and put an end to corruption in PhilHealth.
The task force will have as members representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit (CoA), Civil Service Commission (CSC), Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), Office of the Special Assistant to the President and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).
It was given 30 days to conduct an investigation including lifestyle checks on officials of PhilHealth and to submit its
report and recommendations to the President.
Guevarra said since the task force was given only 30 days to come up with a recommendation, it would zero in on alleged anomalies already under investigation by other agencies.
“I will request the rest of the Task Force members to identify these ongoing investigations that may be actually expedited and completed within the period. I hope the WellMed ghost dialysis claims case is one of them,” Guevarra said.
PhilHealth officials were accused last year of conspiring with WellMed in siphoning its multibillion fund by approving its accreditation despite being investigated for fraudulent claims.
In August 2019, the National Bureau of Investigation filed criminal cases against 21 PhilHealth officials and employees before the DOJ in connection with the fraudulent claims for payment of dialysis and other medical treatment of PhilHealth members and beneficiaries.
Among those named as respondents are members of the Accreditation Sub-Committee (ASC) from PhilHealth Regional Office National Capital Region (PRO-NCR) including its branch manager.
The respondents, according to the NBI- Anti-Graft Division (NBI-AGD) are responsible in approving the accreditation of WellMed for 2019 despite the investigation conducted by PhilHealth’s Fact-Finding Investigation and Enforcement Department on the alleged fraudulent claims of WellMed.
The DOJ secretary added that they have already coordinated with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and asked to be provided a copy of its initial report into PhilHealth’s irregularities.
PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica earlier said administrative charges are likely to be filed against 36 PhilHealth officials, while 13 could be charged criminally for their involvement in these irregularities.
Morales battling CA
Lacson said of Morales, “I wish him well in his fight against the Big C. In all sincerity, I join his family in praying for his recovery. It is unfortunate that these new corruption issues have exploded at a time when his health condition is at a low point.”
Earlier, Sotto had advised PhilHealth’s resigned senior vice president Augustus de Villa to reveal all he knows about shenanigans in the agency while there’s still time.
The retired brigadier general should speak up for the good of the country and for his own sake, Sotto said.
On Thursday, de Villa submitted his irrevocable resignation effective immediately, and no reason was given for his departure.
Sotto said, however, that despite his resignation, de Villa must appear at the Senate hearing and must bring the documents sought by senators on the allegedly overpriced IT equipment that the PhilHealth was to buy.
Butch Fernandez and Joel R. San Juan