‘High-degree corruption’ in PhilHealth ‘akin to a state of emergency’ — Drilon

MANILA, Philippines — Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon on Friday joined calls for a Senate probe on the alleged widespread corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which he said has reached “a level akin to a state of emergency.”

In a statement, Drilon said the P221 billion public funds or the total assets of PhilHealth as of April are at stake and need to be protected from alleged “corruption” and “disarray” in the agency.

“The high degree of corruption within PhilHealth must be stopped. It has reached a level akin to a state of emergency,” said Drilon.

“The administration cannot just sweep it in under the rug. This should be immediately investigated. The Senate should prioritize the investigation when it resumes session next week,” he added.

Drilon made this call after the reported resignation of three PhilHealth officials over the controversy.

However, PhilHealth clarified in a statement Friday morning that it has yet to officially receive the letter of resignation of Atty. Thorrsson Keith. It also added that corporate legal counsel Atty. Roberto Labe Jr. “vehemently denied” he had resigned, and that head executive assistant Etrobal Laborte has tendered his resignation to pursue a doctoral degree.

In his letter addressed to PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales, Keith said he was stepping down from his post due to alleged “widespread corruption” within the health insurance agency. The lawyer also mentioned “rampant and patent unfairness in the promotion process” and alleged delayed salaries and hazard pay in PhilHealth.

Drilon said he is no longer surprised by these fresh allegations given the history of corruption claims in PhilHealth, including issues on the “ghost dialysis patients” and “ghost cataract patients.”

In May, the senator exposed the overpriced COVID-19 test package of PhilHealth, which prompted the agency to lower the testing cost from P8,150 to P3,409, and saved P9.8 billion for the Filipino people.

He said that given the scale of the alleged corruption within PhilHealth, the agency stands to lose its credibility to manage about P221 billion of assets sourced from the hard-earned money of its members.

“It is not every day that we see key officials resigning from their posts one after the other. We will get to the bottom of this. We are watching you, PhilHealth,” he warned.

Drilon added that the country needs a stronger, credible and efficient health insurance system especially in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our health sector is crumbling and these controversies made things even worse. This is too much,” he also said.

“We are in a pandemic where people are getting infected, over 2,000 have died, over five million Filipino families are starving, five million lost their jobs, and our economy is on the verge of recession. And yet, here we have PhilHealth in total disarray today because of corruption,” added Drilon.

Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier said he is drafting a resolution calling for a Senate inquiry on the matter.

EDV