Sotto urges Duterte to read Senate PhilHealth findings

MANILA, Philippines — Instead of just listening to the “excuses” from those tagged in the fund mess involving the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), President Rodrigo Duterte should also consider reading the Senate’s findings on its investigation into alleged anomalies in the state insurer.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who led the chamber’s PhilHealth probe, issued this suggestion after the President still refused to let go of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

Duque has been implicated in the allegedly questionable release of billions of PhilHealth funds through the agency’s Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM).

“The President should talk to us…,” Sotto said in a message to reporters on Tuesday.

“I wish the President will be able to read the findings in the Senate report instead of only hearing excuses from those involved,” he added in a separate Viber message to INQUIRER.net.

Last week, the Senate Committee of the Whole recommended the filing of malversation and graft charges against Duque and several other officials over the “illegal” release of IRM funds.

The Senate panel also called on Duterte to replace Duque and appoint a new health secretary “who has a stronger will to fight corruption.”

Duque, who also serves as the PhilHealth board’s ex-officio chairman, has earlier dismissed the Senate committee report as “baseless findings.”

‘Height of injustice’

On Monday, the health secretary admitted losing sleep over allegations linking him to the PhilHealth fund mess.

“Height of injustice, unfairness, and masakit po ‘yun. ‘Yung hindi ka pumirma, ikaw pa ‘yung idinadawit, ipinipilit na idawit. ‘Yun lang, Sir, ang hindi ko matanggap sa dibdib ko, ‘di ho ako nakakatulog ho dahil dito, Sir,” Duque confessed to the President.

JPV