PRESIDENT Duterte has appointed a new chief for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), as Malacañang continues with its probe of the agency’s former head over allegations of workers’ rights violations and inefficiency.
In an appointment paper circulated on Monday, the President handpicked Roy B. Ferrer to lead the agency as acting president and CEO. Ferrer was a board member of the health-insurance agency before being placed as its interim chief.
Ferrer finished his Biology degree from the Ateneo de Davao University, before taking up medicine at the Davao Medical School Foundation to become a medical doctor. He also holds a master’s degree in internal medicine from the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center.
He used to be the national president of the Ambassador Club Philippines and the president of the Ambassador Club Davao. In his course of practicing medicine, he served at a total of nine hospitals, including the Ricardo Limso Medical Center, DMSF Hospital, Medical Mission Group Hospital, and San Pedro Hospital, among others.
The appointment was made as PhilHealth officials and employees held a black candle vigil on Monday to protest the alleged abuses against the agency’s workers, as well as the reported gross mismanagement of finances and operations of the corporation. They pointed to the agency’s former head, Maria Jude de la Serna, as the culprit for alleged violations of workers’ rights and Philhealth’s underwhelming performance the past year.
“After losing P250 million in 2016, Philhealth initially announced an P8.9-billion loss for 2017. However, shortly after being questioned on the huge loss, Philhealth corrected its earlier announcement and stated that it only has a P4 billion deficit—still an almost 200 percent increase from the previous year’s,” they said.
“Philhealth likewise failed to achieve its performance commitments, gaining a dismal 53 percent corporate performance rating for 2017, after having a performance rating of more than 90 percent in 2016. These twin indicators—financial loss and poor corporate performance rating—are the concrete consequences of the incompetent management and lack of direction which has plagued the corporation of late,” they added.
Apart from this, they accused de la Serna of abusing her power by sacking employees who allegedly expressed objections to her policies. “Six of the 17 casual employees who had been working with PhilHealth from seven to 19 years remain jobless.”
The complaining workers found it “highly suspicious that she removed three antifraud personnel who had reported significant findings on fraud on claims and other areas of operation.”
They took issue with her alleged order to terminate certain allowances for workers, including the P2,700 monthly rice subsidy for rank-and-file employees. “Ironically, too, while De La Serna kept on imposing oppressive compensation policies on employees, it is a fact that for almost a year, she incurred illegal expenses running close to P1 million for staying in hotels in Manila, claiming she was on official travel while she was actually in her official station as interim president and CEO,” the workers said.