MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has assured Filipinos that the government’s expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic response are free from fraudulent activities, and should not be confused with the issues of alleged massive corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“Dalawa ito. Itong PhilHealth, ito ‘yung iniimbistigahan ngayon ni (Justice) Sec. Guevarra… ‘Yan ang may iskandalo, may nakawan ng pera. Itong COVID Bayanihan 1 and 2, malinis ito,” Duterte said in a taped speech aired Tuesday morning.
The President issued the remark as he again vowed to go after corrupt PhilHealth officials and use his remaining two years in Malacañang to put them in justice.
“Kung ‘yan na lang ang trabaho ko sa naiwan kong dalawang taon, ‘yan na lang ang gagawin ko,” the President said.
Duterte recently ordered the Justice department to lead an inter-agency task force to probe PhilHealth officials over corruption claims which were unearthed during a recent congressional inquiry.
Among allegations of corruption raised involve the procurement of alleged overpriced IT equipment; a supposedly questionable release of funds under the corporation’s Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM); and the alleged manipulation of the corporation’s financial status.
In the same speech, Duterte also ordered concerned government agencies regularly to publicize their COVID-19 spending.