PhilHealth spokesperson: Execom members going on leave

Image from PhilHealth Facebook.

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) executive committee will also take a leave from work amid corruption allegations hounding the state insurance firm.

PhilHealth spokesperson Dr. Shirley Domingo made the announcement on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo on Monday, after six regional vice presidents of the firm earlier went on leave.

“Actually hindi lang anim, pati ‘yung execom namin magli-leave na din ‘yun,” Domingo said.

(Actually it’s not just the six vice presidents, even the execom members will also take a leave.)

Domingo said she received information that the six officials will go on leave for only five days.

She added that their absence from work will not affect the operations in their respective regional offices as there are other officials that will take over their workload.

“’Yung anim na sinasabi, magpa-file pa lang sila ng leave of absence ngayon. Wala pang formal. They have intentions. They wrote a letter and ‘yung isa, ang pagkaalam ko, ‘yung isa tumawag sa supervisor na magli-leave sya,” she added.

(The six officials have yet to file a leave today. They have yet to submit formal requests. They have intentions. They wrote a letter, and one of them called his supervisor saying he wants to take a leave.)

In a Senate hearing, resigned PhilHealth anti-fraud officer Thorrsson Montes Keith earlier accused all members of the executive committee of  being part of the “mafia” in PhilHealth that has been allegedly defrauding the corporation for the past several years.

PhilHealth is currently facing separate investigations in the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission for alleged anomalies,  including its Interim Reimbursement Mechanism or reimbursement of payments for COVID-19 services, and its proposed information technology project.

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