PhilHealth chief says lawyer who resigned due to ‘corruption’ was ‘vengeful’

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) said Friday the lawyer  who resigned due to alleged “widespread corruption” in PhilHealth was only “vengeful” after supposedly being denied a job position he was applying for in the agency.

“Nag-apply sya sa position na I think hindi siya qualified so baka ito ‘yung ganti nya. Parang vengeful, spiteful siya dahil tinanggihan ko siya roon. ‘Yun siguro ang motive niya,” PhilHealth president and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales said of lawyer Thorrsson Montes Keith in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(He was applying for a position where I think he was not qualified so this could be his revenge. He was vengeful and spiteful because I refused him to have that job. This could be his motive.)

In a separate interview with DZBB, Morales also said Keith should expedite his resignation instead of its scheduled effectivity on August 31.

“Mag-aantay pa siya ng August 31? Gawin na niyang Lunes o ngayon, kasi detrimental na ‘yung ano (presence) niya. It would compromise the corporation for him to stay, for him to have access to the resources of the corporation. Kung may alam siyang corruption, edi sana inilabas niya,” he added.

(Why should he wait for August 31? He should do it on Monday or now, because [his presence] is already detrimental. It would compromise the corporation for him to stay, for him to have access to the resources of the corporation. If he knew there was corruption, he should have revealed it.)

According to Morales, Keith, whom he describes as a “disgruntled” employee, is a contractual personnel handling “special concerns” in his office and not corruption checks in the agency.

He also said Keith should explain his reported claim that the mandatory payment of PhilHealth contribution by overseas Filipino workers was unconstitutional.

“HIndi naman siya kasama doon (executive committee) so ipaliwanag niya ang position na ‘yan dahil baka hindi nya naiintindihan ang sinasabi niya,” Morales added.

(He is not part of the executive committee so he should explain his position because he might not understand what he was saying.)

The PhilHealth chief also denied that two other officials have resigned from their posts due to the corruption allegations, saying that one of them, a corporate counsel, denied he was quitting, and that his executive assistant had only resigned to pursue a doctoral degree.

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/MUF