Roque denies he’s eyeing Philhealth post: ‘Demotion po ‘yan’

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque denied Monday that he is eyeing a position at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) following his claims of corruption within the state health insurance firm.

Roque said this after Senator Richard Gordon claimed that critics of PhilHealth and the Department of Health (DOH)—two of the most criticized government agencies to date amid the COVID-19 pandemic—are probably targeting key positions in the agencies.

“Wala naman akong nalalaman na nag-aaspire to be Secretary of Health sa panahon ngayon dahil ito po ang pinakamahirap na trabaho sa panahon ng COVID. Kahit gaano ka kaambisyoso, napakahirap namang ambisyunin ng ganyang trabaho,” Roque said in a televised press briefing in Malacañang.

(I do not know anyone aspiring to be Secretary of Health today because this is definitely the hardest job during this COVID era. No matter how ambitious you are, it would be very difficult to dream of such a job.)

“Pagdating naman po sa PhilHealth, well sinasabi ni General Morales interested daw po ako. Demotion po ‘yan, I’m not interested,” he added.

(When it comes to PhilHealth, well General Morales says I’m interested. But that is demotion, I’m not interested.)

The DOH is set to face an investigation before the Office of the Ombudsman over alleged irregularities in its handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

Meanwhile, Roque has been accusing PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales of sitting on the supposed continued corruption in the state health insurer.

The beef between Morales and Roque stemmed from PhilHealth’s appeal to delay the full implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law, citing its dipping revenue collection amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roque, who co-authored the UHC when he was still a lawmaker in the lower chamber, said that Philhealth is losing money due to corruption and that halting the implementation of the UHC is unlawful.

Before returning as Duterte’s spokesman, Roque filed in February filed graft complaint against PhilHealth officials for their alleged inaction on a scam involving the issuance of fake premium receipts to overseas Filipino workers.

JE