Recto wants wider reforms in PhilHealth after gov’t forms investigation task force
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Saturday is pushing for wider reforms in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), a day after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the creation of a task force that will look into the widespread corruption in the state health insurer.
In a statement, Recto said that among those that need to be changed is for PhilHealth to have “constant audit” more than a “special audit”.
“I doubt if COA (Commission on Audit) auditors in that agency number more than 25. Too small for a P140-billion-a-year agency, which transacts 35,000 claims a day from 8,500 hospitals and 40,000 healthcare professionals.,” he said.
“COA has 5,782 job vacancies on its plantilla, including at least for 516 certified public accountants (CPAs). Invite millennials from the ranks of the 7,390 CPA board passers since January last year to fill these,” he added. “This bigger COA detachment should be reinforced with other COA auditors to do fraud and performance audits from time to time.”
Duterte ordered the formation of Task Force PhilHealth, which will be headed by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, and will have inter-agency cooperation between the Office of the President, Office of the Ombudsman, the COA, and the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
The task force comes after the state health insurer was rocked by widespread corruption allegations, the latest being the exposé of former anti-fraud officer Thorrsson Montes Keith that an alleged syndicate within PhilHealth pocketed P15 billion because of schemes perpetuated by PhilHealth officials themselves.
Recto also proposed that PhilHealth board members “strictly follow qualification standards.”
“For President and CEO, it should be seven years of experience in public health, management, finance and health economics or a combination of any of these expertise,” he said.
“Non-ex officio members of the board and senior executives should be independently vetted by the GOCC Governance Commission (GCG) if they meet the mandatory ‘fit and proper’ rule,” he added. “No GCG clearance, no appointment. That is the only way to get the best and the brightest, and not the recycled and reassigned.”
Another proposal Recto raised was to strengthen the PhilHealth’s anti-fraud office “with more personnel and a greater mandate so it can function as a truly independent internal affairs office.”
Recto was also calling for the suspension of the power of the five Cabinet members in PhilHeath’s board of members—namely the Secretaries of Health, Social Welfare and Development, Budget and Management, Finance, and Labor and Employment “to designate alternates or representatives.”
“Unless lifted by the President, they should function as full-time, hands-on government and presidential representatives to the board,” the Senate leader said.
“They can tap their squad of Assistant Secretaries and Undersecretaries to assist them, but the latter should not be empowered to act on their behalf. We need these Big Brothers, this Cabinet five, to closely exercise oversight during PhilHealth’s reform and rehabilitation phase.”
The PhilHealth should also “harness the full power of IT “to promote transparency and client satisfaction in all transactions,” Recto added.
“But tap outside experts to guide the design, pricing, procurement, and installation of this. Contract this out – in open bidding – to leading companies with good track records and not fly-by-night carpetbaggers. Create an ad hoc IT advisory council with business and non-government organization representatives.”
“Changing the system, not just the personalities, will stop the revolving door of anomalies,” Recto said.
