Sen. Christopher Go (Photo from his office)
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday to help protect documents of the Philippine Health Corp. (PhilHealth), particularly those that could be used as evidence against officials of the agency accused of corrupt practices.
“We have received reports that there are people attempting to destroy or to hide the documents in PhilHealth regional offices that may be used as evidence of anomalies,” Go said on Saturday in a statement quoting him in Filipino.
“I immediately asked the NBI to look into this and make sure no documents would be touched to protect the integrity of the task force investigation,” he added.
According to Go, NBI officer-in-charge Eric Distor, with whom he discussed the issue, had ordered the deployment of agents to monitor PhilHealth regional offices.
“The NBI said that they will also conduct an inventory of all cases being handled by PhilHealth regional legal offices in order to secure documents including affidavits and hospital records. They will also secure possible witnesses,” Go said.
He also urged authorities to arrest and prosecute anyone caught attempting unauthorized removal or destruction of PhilHealth public records, especially those related to cases being investigated.
“Those attempting to hide evidence should be punished so that they would not be able to keep on doing it, so that the thieves would not be able to still more. The truth must come out and those responsible should be held responsible,” he said.
“I got a report saying that in Pangasinan in Region 1 the documents were destroyed because of rain,” Go told reporters in an ambush interview in Davao City. “I’m urging the NBI task force to investigate if there’s some scam involved here.
“If there really was rain, that’s okay. But if the documents were deliberately destroyed, that’s another thing. They should answer for it,” he added.
“I’m calling the attention of the PhilHealth leadership. Your funding is so big, and yet you can’t have the roof of your office repaired. I hope you use your funding right by having your offices repaired and giving service to the people.”
Go explained that systemic and systematic corruption in government would adversely affect the quality of public service and would destroy the morale of other employees in the bureaucracy.
“As I said, thieves should first be crippled so they won’t be able to make their move to influence the investigation of the task force,” he said.
Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, stressed that the investigation should lead to the prosecution of those responsible in order to fully reform PhilHealth.
“Somebody has to go to jail. Don’t just keep on investigating,” he added.
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