Drilon urges overhaul of PhilHealth

MANILA, Philippines—Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon called for a top-to-bottom reorganization of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and recommended that those appointed to the organization have the best track record possible.

Drilon said that a way to establish a new age for PhilHealth is for President Rodrigo Duterte to reorganize the whole corporation through a law.

“What PhilHealth needs now is a top-to-bottom cleansing in order to get rid of individuals who used PhilHealth as their personal ATM. Sa gitna ng pandemya, ginawa nilang personal na bangko ang PhilHealth (In the middle of the pandemic, those responsible for this mess used PhilHealth as their own personal bank),” said Drilon in a statement Wednesday.

“We need to ensure that only the most competent and honest people are appointed to PhilHealth. Please do not appoint scalawags or people who turn a blind eye to corruption. We need people who have zero tolerance for corruption.”

PhilHealth is marred in a corruption scandal with the Senate’s inquiry concluding that the agency’s funds were used for a P2-billion information technology project and a P30-billion interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM) to hospitals that had not treated COVID-19 patients.

Duterte also ordered PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales to resign from his post due to health concerns, a move Drilon saw as a welcome development.

“It is a welcome development. However, as long as the general structure of the corporation remains the same, corruption will continue,” said Drilon.

The opposition senator added that it will take a total revamp of the officials that will ultimately head PhilHealth in fixing the controversy.

“The fit and proper rule should be strictly applied. The officials must be chosen based on their integrity, experience, education, training and competence, among others,” said Drilon.

Citing Section 53 of the Government-owned and controlled corporations Governance Act (Republic Act 10149), Drilon said the Government Commission for GOCCs (GCG) must actively perform its mandate as a central advisory to monitor and oversee PhilHealth.

Drilon added that it’s the GCG’s responsibility to identify the candidates and their qualifications before submitting its recommendations to the President.

He also urged PhilHealth to upgrade its information technology system to eliminate corruption.

“The use of IT in the healthcare industry is known to promote efficiency and reliability in the delivery of healthcare services. PhilHealth should simply outsource to a reputable company the provision of its IT services,” said Drilon. [ac]