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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 1) – The new head of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is against privatizing the agency, saying it will only send a “wrong signal” that people distrust government officials.
During Thursday’s joint hearing of House committees on public accounts and good governance and public responsibility, PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran opposed recommendations from lawmakers and even President Rodrigo Duterte to privatize the insurer. health agency that has been harassed by numerous complaints of irregularities.
“We respect the wisdom of the president, but if it is privatized, what will happen to our members?” said Gierran, who was appointed in August to head the agency following the resignation of General Ricardo Morales.
“Are we telling the people of the Philippines, the world, that only people in the private sector can work well, that we don’t know how to work properly? It will send the wrong signal that the government people cannot be trusted, “he added.
[Translation: We respect the wisdom of the President, but if we will privatize, what will happen to our members? Are we telling the world that only people in the private sector can work well, that public officials do not know how to get the job done? It will send a wrong signal that people in the government cannot be trusted.]Duterte previously raised the idea of abolishing or privatizing PhilHealth, but said he will first try to reorganize the agency with all of its staff resigning.
Deputy Attorney General Adrian Sugay, who represented the PhilHealth Task Force before the panel, said they also didn’t go so far as to recommend the abolition of PhilHealth. The DOJ-led interagency task force was assigned to investigate, conduct lifestyle checks, and proactively suspend PhilHealth staff.
“The report was more about recommending reforms to the PhilHealth process. We wouldn’t have gone so far as to say that we don’t need PhilHealth,” Sugay said.
‘Don’t save Duke from the PhilHealth mess’
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the joint House panel also asked the Justice Department to include in its findings the responsibility of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who was removed from the initial list of officials recommended to face complaints.
“You really have to study the role of Secretary Duque. How can you be a chairman of the board who always says, ‘I’m not there, they’re just executive officers,’ but the person who’s been there for a long time knows that all nonsense is neglected?, “ Cavite’s representative, Jesús Crispin Remulla, told Attorney General Adrian Sugay, who represented the interagency working group.
[Translation: You really have to study the role of Secretary Duque. How can you be a chairman of the board and keep on saying, ‘I’m not part of that, it’s only the executive officers,’ when the person who has long been tenured and aware of the controversies would just let them go on.]Duque served as president of PhilHealth from 2001 to 2005; its president from 2005 to 2010; then reassigned to the position in 2017.
The task force has yet to formally file complaints against officials, particularly those involved in the agency’s controversial interim reimbursement scheme.
The task force is also investigating other allegations of fraud, including the agency’s questionable purchase of IT equipment and possible private sector collusion in other schemes.
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