MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Sunday suggested the “reorganization” of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), amid the state health insurer’s alleged “overpricing” of its coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test packages.
While Drilon does not want to make any conclusion, he said there is a “prima facie case” of irregularities.
“Alam mo, hindi naman ako galing sa DOH [Department of Health]. Pero ang maliwanag ay mayroong grupo diyan na nagse-set ng packages. Siguro iyan ang tingnan at i-reorganize,” Drilon said in an interview over dzBB.
(You know, I’m not from the DOH. But what’s clear is that there is a group there who sets the packages. That should be looked into and reorganized.)
“I don’t want to say na may kalokohan dahil ako ay isang abugado at galing sa DOJ [Department of Justice]. Sa aking tingin, doon pa lang sa nakikita natin ay may prima facie case na may kalokohan. Kaya mabuting i-reorganize na muna at kung may makitang kaso, i-file na,” he further said.
(I don’t want to say there are irregularities because I’m a lawyer and I was from the DOJ. But I think we can see that there is a prima facie case of irregularities. That’s why it should be reorganized for now and if cases against it will be seen, it should be filed.)
Drilon, during a Senate hearing earlier, questioned PhilHealth’s P8,150 COVID-19 test package saying it was a “little overpriced.”
The senator warned the cost may lead to the “depletion” of PhilHealth’s resources and an estimated P8.3 billion loss due to “overpayment.”
During the same Senate hearing, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III explained that the cost of PhilHealth’s COVID-19 tests, which range from P2,710 to P8,150, depends on how the accredited testing laboratories have procured the test kits.
“Ang pinakasimpleng comparison ay yung sa Red Cross, kung tinanggap ng PRC na kaya nilang magbigay ng tests at P3,500, bakit hindi nila ginawa?” Drilon said.
(The simplest comparison is between PhilHealth’s and Red Cross. If PRC was able to give tests at P3,500, why can’t they?)
PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales and Duque should be held accountable for the alleged overpriced COVID-19 test kits and for their “negligence,” Drilon added.
“Sa akin, sila ay may pananagutan,” he said when asked if the two officials may be held liable. “Hindi ko alam to what extent. At the very least, mayroong negligence. Paano naman nangyari ito kung tinitingnan nila nang husto?”
(For me, they should be held accountable. I don’t know to what extent. At the very least, there was negligence. How would this happen if they looked into it well?)
Meanwhile, Malacañang said President Rodrigo Duterte wants an investigation into the alleged overpriced COVID-19 tests.