THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) issued an official statement last Thursday saying it acknowledges the decision of the Supreme Court affirming the Commission on Audit’s (COA) ruling that disallowed certain allowances given by the Corporation in 2014.
“We wish to inform the public that PhilHealth immediately discontinued the subject allowances after receipt of the Notice of Disallowance from COA,” the statement signed by Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eli Dino D. Santos read.
“The subsequent benefits given to our employees have since been aligned with those prescribed under the Salary Standardization Law IV, and now with the Compensation and Position Classification System (CPCS) issued by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG),” Santos, also a lawyer, added.
“We maintain, however, that those allowances were given in good faith, above board, not extravagant and most of all, well deserved by the hardworking officers and employees of the state-insurer.”
He added that in the meantime, Philhealth will be waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court on its Motion for Reconsideration filed last December 20. PhilHealth will fully comply with the directive of the Court once issued with finality, the statement read.
“We assure the public that PhilHealth is prudent in administering its funds, and ensure that meeting our financial obligations, especially the payment of benefit claims, is always our top priority,” Santos said.