CSC exec sees pattern in delay of PhilHealth cases resolution

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) said on Monday that she had discovered within the agency a pattern of delaying the resolution of some cases involving executives of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada said this was based on her examination of case records between 2010 and 2020.

According to her, there were cases supposed to be under the jurisdiction of regional offices that were transferred to the central office. On the other hand, some cases for the central office ended up in regional offices.

“As to why, it will prolong or delay the procedure. As to who is favoring it, that is one question to ask,” Lizada said at an online briefing.

She also noted that some cases were quickly resolved while others were met with inaction.

In one instance, a former PhilHealth lawyer was in charge of resolving cases involving the agency, Lizada said although she did not name the person involved.

According to her, she has asked her team to study case records carefully since she does not want questionable decisions to slip past her.

She also raised the practice in the CSC of providing the draft resolution to commissioners, but not the case records.

“So how sure am I that the draft resolution is supported by the case records?” she asked.

Lizada earlier claimed that CSC chair Alicia Dela Rosa-Bala had ordered commissioners to withhold from lawmakers information on cases involving PhilHealth officials.

But Bala, a former ex-officio member of the PhilHealth board, denied the allegation, calling it “false and misleading.”

A CSC statement said that Bala was just observing the sub judice rule, which restricts comments and the disclosure of information on pending cases.

For his part, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he wanted to know the extent of the reach of the PhilHealth mafia and if it included the CSC.