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Francisco Duque III Vicente Sotto III – PRIB SENATE
MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte may change his mind about keeping Health Secretary Francisco Duque III in his cabinet once he finishes reading the Senate report on the multi-million dollar fraud that nearly paralyzes the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Sunday said.
“Our findings were very obvious,” Sotto said of the Senate committee’s recommendations, which included the removal of Duque and the criminal indictment for his alleged role in massive corruption in the state corporation.
“It is impossible that he did not know (about the fraudulent schemes) … He is the chairman of the board (of PhilHealth), which governs (the state insurer). It is clear what “rule” means. Everything is under his control since he is also Secretary of Health, “he said in a radio interview.
Sotto, who had chaired the Senate hearings, had provided Malacañang and the Secretary of Justice, Menardo Guevarra, with a copy of the committee’s report.
Duque had said that any future charges against him would give him a chance to clear his name.
When told that Duterte had repeatedly said that he still trusted Duque, the Senate leader said that committing illegal acts had nothing to do with enjoying the trust of the most powerful public official in the country.
“I hope that if the president sees the points we are making, his views will change. He may still trust (Duque), but there are infractions of the law for which (Duque) must be held accountable, ”he said.
“It is clear that (PhilHealth) released funds illegally. If the president sees the committee’s report, his opinion will be different, ”he added.
Furthermore, Sotto said the president had previously dropped the ax even on his close friends in government who had been implicated in corruption issues, including former PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales.
“It is not a matter of whether they trust or not (by the president). Even if he trusts you, but the evidence or the findings of the (Senate) committee proved you committed a crime (it won’t change what you’ve done), ”he said.
The president of the Senate reiterated that Duque should be held responsible for embezzlement of public funds as defined in article 217 of the Revised Penal Code.
Sotto said the health secretary’s claim that he was unaware of the allegedly anomalous distribution of the P26.8 billion interim refund mechanism (IRM), a special financial package for COVID-19, would only prove that Duque had been negligent. as the board of PhilHealth. chair.
Meanwhile, the Senate leader said PhilHealth should recover MRI funds that were illegally delivered to hospitals, dialysis centers and birthing clinics that were not eligible to receive advance payments from the government-run insurance company.
Sotto said: “They (PhilHealth officials) should be able to liquidate these funds … In addition to the liquidation, we also (ordered) PhilHealth to recover the money (that was illegally released).”
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