Lorenzana: For health reasons, Morales should resign from PhilHealth

Philippine Health Insurance Corp (Philhealth) president Ricardo Morales would be better off resigning to fully recover his health.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana made this remark saying that it was what he would do if he were in the place of Morales, a retired brigadier general.

“I would resign already because that’s a health problem, health issue,” Lorenzana said in an interview on Monday (Aug. 10) with CNN Philippines.

“I’m not him but if I were confronted by that sickness that will incapacitate me to do my job for even a week, a month or six weeks, I think the best thing to do there for his rest and recuperation is to resign,” Lorenzana said.

Morales had gone on medical leave while undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma on his doctor’s advice.

His medical leave, however, was timed with a Senate probe on alleged irregularities in PhilHealth.

Lorenzana, however, said he did not believe Morales would dip his hand in corruption.

“I know him personally and I don’t think he has been involved in some of the anomalies there,” Lorenzana said in another interview with ANC.

“It so happened that he’s at the helm so he needs to answer questions from the Senate and any investigators,” he said.

Lorenzana said that he knew Morales to be honest, a person of integrity and somebody who accomplishes things he set out to do.

“But I think he was overwhelmed by the things that he found in PhilHealth, managing a huge amount of money for the people and the anomalies there,” Lorenzana said of Morales.

“So I think he was overwhelmed by these, “ he said.

The defense secretary added that Morales may “have not yet figured out what to do to fully address the anomalies when the pandemic happened.”

Nevertheless Lorenzana said that the alleged irregularities in PhilHealth may not have come out without the COVID-19 pandemic.

TSB