House allies eye expanding Duterte powers to fix PhilHealth mess

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies in the House of Representatives are keen to give him emergency powers to deal with corruption in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) amid doubts surrounding the state-run insurer’s ability to fund vital health-care services during the coronavirus pandemic.

The chair of the House public accounts committee said on Wednesday that the panel had started looking into the possibility of granting special authority to the President, though he did not specify the nature, scope and effectivity of such emergency powers.

‘Good idea’

“The committee is inclined [to give the President emergency powers] and we are already discussing the emergency powers to be granted to the President,” Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor told a joint hearing with the House good government panel.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the PhilHealth chair, expressed support for the proposal, saying it would help Duterte introduce reforms in the company.

“Yes, it’s a good idea to give additional powers to President Duterte so we can speed up reforms in PhilHealth,” he told the body via Zoom.

Justice Undersecretary Adrian Sugay also replied in the affirmative when asked if the Department of Justice (DOJ) was amenable to the idea.

The House inquiry was launched as the Senate conducted its own investigation of disclosures that members of PhilHealth’s executive committee were part of a “mafia” or “syndicate” that allegedly had made off with P15 billion in company funds.

Former PhilHealth officials had testified in the Senate on alleged “moneymaking schemes” in the company, including alleged overpricing of an information technology project, manipulation of financial statements, and reimbursements for COVID-19 treatment to hospitals that handled no coronavirus cases.

The Senate wrapped up its inquiry on Tuesday and reported that PhilHealth was financially “hemorrhaging” as a result of mismanagement and corruption.

In his report, Senate President Vicente Sotto III called for a thorough review of PhilHealth’s financial life after one of the company’s officials said its reserve fund would run out by 2022.

Mr. Duterte earlier appointed former National Bureau of Investigation Director Dante Gierran to replace PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales, who was forced to step down due to ill health.

Revamp ordered

The President ordered Gierran to revamp the organization and to run after the officials involved in the scandal.

The Senate had recommended the prosecution of Duque and other PhilHealth officials, but presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Wednesday that the President would wait for the recommendations of the task force he had formed to investigate the alleged irregularities in the company.

Roque said the investigation and the appointment of Gierran would help restore the public’s trust in PhilHealth.

He noted that key PhilHealth officials had already been placed under preventive suspension.

“So I think the President is serious and the people accept how serious he is in cleaning up the ranks of PhilHealth so that the universal health care law that we pushed would be implemented and Filipinos would get free medicine and health care,” Roque said in a television interview.

Asked about repeated calls for the removal of Duque from PhilHealth, Roque reiterated that Duterte continued to trust the health chief.

“But let us wait for the recommendation of the task force, because if it has a similar recommendation the President will respect it,” he said.

—With a report from Leila B. Salaverria