PhilHealth exec says CSC has voided his suspension order

A regional executive of the Philippine Health (PhilHealth) clarified on Sunday that a 90-day preventive suspension against him had already been voided by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Dennis Adre, PhilHealth regional vice president in Davao City, said this in reaction to a recent report saying that he had been suspended after being accused of “grave misconduct, gross insubordination and gross neglect of duty.”

READ: PhilHealth suspends senior exec for ‘grave misconduct, negligence’

Adre denied the report in a statement.

Citing the CSC decision dated Oct. 2, 2018, the statement said : “PhilHealth failed to comply with the second requirement for a preventive suspension to be valid.”

“The decision stated that PhilHealth presented no proof that Mr. Adre was in the position to either tamper with the documentary evidence presented, or to exert influence on the witnesses against him,” he added.

Meanwhile, the statement noted that in November 2017, Adre and other senior officers from Mindanao filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against members of the Philhealth Board and other officials for usurpation of authority, anticipation of duties of a public office, usurpation of legislative powers, grave misconduct, falsification, oppression, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The officials included Dr. Roy Ferrer, Dr. Celestina de la Serna, Dr. Christine Liban-Lareza, Dr. Robert Salvador, then interim Health Secretary Pauline Ubial and former corporate secretary Deborah Sy.

“In the days that followed, the remaining board members, then Interim President and CEO (chief executive officer) Dr. Celestina de la Serna, Dr. Salvador, Dr. Lareza, and incumbent Acting President and CEO Dr. Roy Ferrer, began their cycle of vengeance,” the statement said.

“Allegedly, in order to punish casual employees for signing the opposition to the confirmation of Dr. Ubial, that eventually led to her rejection by the Commission on Appointments, their terms were reduced from one year to three months, two weeks after they started to report for work in January 20,” it added.

Following this, the statement said that officers were “ordered to revise the recommendation for the term of employment from one year to three months,” from which Adre, as an officer, allegedly failed to comply.

With this, he was charged with an administrative case for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, gross insubordination, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The statement added that because of this, he was “likewise slapped with a three-month preventive suspension order” which was “consequently declared void by the CSC.” /atm