Bong Go asks COA: Conduct special audit on PhilHealth
MANILA, Philippines—Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Thursday asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to conduct a special audit on Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) fund utilization and submit its findings to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Go made the call during the second Senate committee hearing on the PhilHealth controversy.
Addressing COA chairperson Michael Aguinaldo, the senator said: “I urge you to conduct a special audit and submit your findings to the Ombudsman. Gumawa kayo ng audit para malaman natin kung sino ang mga salarin.”
Go also asked the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct their own investigations too.
“Please get to the bottom of this mess. ‘Wag kayong mahihiyang sabihin kung sino ang mga nasa likod ng kalokohan na ito, kahit sino pa ang mga taong ito. Karapatan ng taumbayan malaman ang katotohanan,” Go said.
Go then asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file lawsuits against those who would be found responsible for the anomalies.
The Senator called out current PhilHealth president, retired army general Ricardo Morales, and challenged him to institute immediate reforms to curb anomalies and weed out corruption in the agency.
Allegations of fraudulent, overpayment and unpaid claims, accreditation suspension, conflict of interest of officials, overstocking of medicines and supplies, and reorganization have been crippling the credibility and accountability of healthcare services in the country over the years.
