The Justice Department sees no legal problem with the Red Cross testing agreement with PhilHealth

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) does not see any legal problem with Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) entering into a COVID-19 testing agreement with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), but it does The state health insurer should see the immediate payment of its 900 million pesos debt with the private non-profit organization.

The DOJ did not issue a legal opinion on whether PhilHealth was legally obligated to immediately pay its PRC bills because it was not provided with facts on which to base its opinion, “particularly on the integrity of the requirements and adherence to the rules and procedures. accounting and auditing, ”Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Monday, reading the Justice Department issue.

‘There is no other way out’

He said requirements must be met before the issue of immediate payment can be resolved.

“There is no other way out, you really have to comply with accounting standards and auditing standards and procedures,” Roque said at a press conference.

He also said that PhilHealth was actually willing to pay off half of the debt to the People’s Republic of China now, but that the nonprofit would accept nothing more than the full amount owed to it. “If they accept 50 percent right now, we’ll pay 50 percent, but they have to resume testing,” he said.

The People’s Republic of China previously stopped its COVID-19 tests for Filipino workers returning abroad and other Filipinos returning due to mounting PhilHealth debt.

The Justice Department’s view backing PhilHealth and PRC’s agreement to test for COVID-19 stands in contrast to the report from the health insurer’s lawyers, who described the treatment as “very irregular.”

PhilHealth’s legal advisor, Alfredo Pineda II, had said that the insurer should consider rescission of the memorandum of agreement due to its “apparent flaws and even irregularity or possible illegality.”

Roque, reading the Department of Justice opinion, said the department saw no impediment to the PhilHealth-PRC agreement to provide COVID-9 testing.

Under the universal health care law, the DOJ said, PhilHealth has the power to contract health care institutions, professionals, and others for the provision of health services.

P100-M cash advance

The DOJ also said PhilHealth’s P100 million cash advance for the People’s Republic of China needed the president’s approval. But he also said that approval could still be obtained even after the payment has been made.

“However, even if [PhilHealth] We did not obtain such approval before remitting the amount to the People’s Republic of China, we believe that it can still be obtained post facto, ”said the DOJ.

Surigao del Norte representative Robert Ace Barbers questioned the advance payment on Monday.

“There is no legal basis because PhilHealth is not authorized to issue or release advance payments because they are public funds, so definitely public funds can only be used on services and goods that have already been purchased, delivered or services that have already been borrowed, ”Barbers told reporters.

When asked about the opinion of PhilHealth lawyers on the alleged irregularity of the deal with the People’s Republic of China, Roque said that the state health insurance company should follow the opinion of the Department of Justice.

“PhilHealth, as a member of the executive branch of government, should pay legal attention to the opinion of the Department of Justice, with the caveat that only the courts can say with certainty whether or not there will be criminal liability because that is already a judicial function, ” he said.

He also said the PhilHealth board members could be given the defense in good faith because they expected legal opinion from the Justice Department, and said there was no legal weakness when the memorandum of understanding was executed.

No DOH involvement

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told the Inquirer on Monday that the memorandum of agreement was signed “without the involvement of the Health Department.”

“The Justice Department’s opinion has addressed the legal issues raised by board member Al Cabading and Mr. Alfredo Pineda,” Duque said.

“The opinion of the Department of Justice, according to the reading [presidential] spokesman Harry Roque, states that there are no more legal diseases in the [memorandum of agreement]”, He added.

The decision by the People’s Republic of China to stop its testing for COVID-19 has left thousands of returning Filipinos stranded in hotel quarantines.

Senator Richard Gordon, president of the People’s Republic of China, said PhilHealth failed to pay its P1.1 billion debt on Monday despite promises to pay from the health insurer.

In a text message to reporters, Gordon did not mention the memorandum of agreement, but hinted that PhilHealth’s review of the contract was an attempt to avoid resolving its obligations to the People’s Republic of China.

“We note with sadness that PhilHealth continues to make excuses on such a serious and critical matter,” Gordon said.

“First, they say they want to make sure the contract is good. They needed DBM (Department of Budget and Management). The president told them to pay. Then he was referred to the DOJ, who told them that the contract is valid and they must pay, ”he said.

‘I should be ashamed’

PhilHealth, he said, “has been treacherous, reckless and has violated the contract many times.”

“[The] PRC covered the first huge wave of people to be tested. PhilHealth should be ashamed of themselves for betraying our vulnerable people, ”Gordon said.

Iloilo’s representative, Janette Garin, a former health secretary, said Monday that the government should seek other labs to test for COVID-19 on returning Filipinos.

“[T]There are many laboratories here that are willing to help, both governmental and private, ”Garin told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

Roque said the government was coordinating with eight private laboratories to process the samples collected from the returning Filipinos to ensure their COVID-19 test results were released immediately.

–With reports from Jovic Yee, DJ Yap and Nestor Corrales

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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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