MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) said it is ready to respond to corruption allegations linked to the agency that will be tackled during a possible Senate inquiry.
“Nothing to hide: PhilHealth ready to face investigations to be mounted by the Senate and Office of the Special Assistant to the President to answer alleged corruption issue raised by a resigned job order contractor,” read the tweet on PhilHealth’s official account on Friday.
Nothing to hide: PhilHealth ready to face investigations to be mounted by the Senate and Office of the Special Assistant to the President to answer alleged corruption issue raised by a resigned job order contractor.
— PhilHealth (@teamphilhealth) July 24, 2020
On Friday, Senator Panfilo Lacson said he will file a resolution calling for an investigation into the supposed widespread corruption in PhilHealth, revealing an alleged P1 billion worth of “questionable transactions” in the agency.
“I am now drafting a resolution calling for a Senate Committee of the Whole inquiry. As expressed by SP Sotto to me last night, this inquiry will be one of the Senate’s top agenda after our session resumes on Monday,” he said.
Prior to this, over three PhilHealth officials resigned due to the reported corruption in the agency. PhilHealth confirmed that one of its officials resigned but it also assured that corruption claims are being taken seriously.
With these accusations hounding the agency, PhilHealth said “allegations not substantiated by evidence are hearsay and outright malicious.”