News Briefs: Aug. 1, 2019

Hontiveros: Hold ‘unscrupulous’ doctors  accountable

MANILA, Philippines — As board member of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), she had called out the “hakot” (seek out) modus of unscrupulous private medical companies as early as 2015, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Wednesday.

But apparently, the anomalies persisted.

“Doctors operating for the sake of insurance reimbursements should be held accountable,” she added. Hontiveros issued the statement following Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s privilege speech on Monday that discussed the alleged irregularities in PhilHealth that left it “bleeding dry.”

The senator noted that “[e]very single peso under our health programs could potentially spell the difference between life and death for our constituents. Let us make sure that it is well spent and will not end up in the pockets of the corrupt.” —Marlon Ramos

Antifake news bill assailed

MANILA, Philippines — Human rights group Karapatan on Wednesday slammed an antifake news bill filed by Sen. Vicento Sotto III as “dangerous” and “hypocritical” for “giving the government the power to suppress media freedom.”

Sotto’s Senate Bill No. 9, or the Anti-False Content Act seeks “to protect the public from the deleterious effects of false and deceiving content online,” and to criminalize the publication and proliferation of false content on the internet.

But Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the measure would be a bogus bill “when the main purveyors of false information are in power.”

She added: “Giving Duterte the power to define and penalize ‘fake news’ — [or] the power to tag critics, activists and political opponents as proliferators of information that he deems ‘fake’— is an essential ingredient in the regime’s recipe for a fascist dictatorship.”

Sotto’s bill imposes a fine of P200,000 to P2 million and imprisonment of six to 20 years to violators. —MARIEJO S. RAMOS

Duterte won’t ask Duque to go on leave

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will not ask Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to go on leave while he undergoes investigation for alleged conflict of interest because of the dealings of his family’s firm with the Department of Health (DOH).

Neither will the President fire the health official since there should be evidence to support any corruption allegation against him, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

“As [the President] said, whoever is the accused, we will let him be investigated. But while the results are not in yet, the presumption of innocence under the Constitution applies,” Panelo said.

Duque himself had insisted on his innocence, Panelo said.

The health official was accused of conflict of interest after a firm owned by his family, Doctors Pharmaceuticals Inc., bagged contracts with the DOH.

Duque had said that he had divested himself of his interest in the firm in 2006.

Earlier, Duque faced allegations of conflict of interest after it was found that a company he owns with his siblings, the Educational and Medical Development Corp., had lease contracts with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), for the use of the family’s building in Dagupan City.

PhilHealth rented the building in January 2018, three months after Duque’s appointment as health secretary. —Leila B. Salaverria