Sen. Richard Gordon. (FILE) Screen grab / Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) should pay its remaining debt to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) amounting to P561 million within three days, Senator Richard Gordon said Wednesday.
“The debt is due and demandable and the agreement says upon demand by the Red Cross of payment, when we submit the receipts and all the things that go with this such as the records, pictures and results… they should pay in three days,” Gordon, who is also the chairman of the PRC, said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.
“They have to pay the half a billion,” he added.
The amount of P561 million, Gordon noted, is equivalent to the 160,475 tests done by the PRC for PhilHealth.
On Wednesday, the PRC fully resumed COVID-19 tests chargeable to PhilHealth after the state insurer settled half of its P1.1-billion debt on Tuesday.
According to Gordon, the PRC is sending a letter to PhilHealth asking the state insurer to immediately settle its remaining balance.
“It’s hard to talk with them. If they are not serious we are deadly serious. They are responsible for deaths that will happen, they are responsible if there’s a surge right now. There could be a surge in testing of positives. I hope it doesn’t happen. I pray it doesn’t happen…this country cannot afford to have another lockdown,” he added.
“They must pay the remaining balance right away,” he further said.
The PRC will also no longer allow PhilHealth’s debt to pile up, according to Gordon.
“We will charge them as we test. So the people we test right now, the whole day and last night, we will send the bill to them right away so it doesn’t go bigger than it has to be,” Gordon said.