Duterte urged to suspend PhilHealth top execs linked to alleged corruption

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri urged President Rodrigo Duterte to place on preventive suspension top executives of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) linked to the alleged corruption and anomalies within the agency.

In filing Senate Resolution No. 502, Zubiri also sought for the preventive suspension of officials responsible for the non-submission of pertinent documents to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Commission on Audit (COA).

The Senate adopted the resolution during its plenary session Wednesday afternoon.

After the adoption, all senators were made co-authors of the measure.

During the Senate investigation into the PhilHealth mess on Tuesday, the senator flagged the supposed unwillingness of PhilHealth to submit in timely manner documents being asked by the NBI and COA.

“PhilHealth’s unwillingness to cooperate with regard to the submission of records could qualify as obstruction of justice that prevents the NBI from carrying out its responsibilities as an investigative agency, as well as PhilHealth’s refusal or delay in the submission of pertinent documents and refusal to grant full access to its record system to the Commission on Audit is a blatant violation of the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines,” Zubiri said in his resolution.

He warned that allowing the PhilHealth officials being linked to the alleged irregularities to stay in their posts “may give them time to tamper with, conceal or destroy important records.”

Further, he said the officials could “hamper” the investigations being undertaken by the NBI, COA, the Ombudsman, the Senate and House of Representatives and other investigative bodies conducting probes on PhilHealth.

The state-run insurance company has been embroiled in fresh allegations of corruption and fraudulent schemes after a sitting board member and a resigned anti-fraud officer claimed that a so-called “mafia” in PhilHealth has been orchestrating large-scale corruption within the corporation for years.

The Senate is set to come out with its probe findings on the issue after a series of investigations in the past three weeks. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives will embark on another hearing on the PhilHealth mess on Thursday.

/MUF