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MANILA, Philippines – The Senate Committee of the Whole “made unsubstantiated conclusions on mere allegations only” when it recommended bringing charges against him for the alleged misuse of funds at the Philippines Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), it said Wednesday the Secretary of Health Francisco Duque.
Duque made the comment during the joint hybrid hearing of the House public accounts committee and the good governance and public responsibility committee, a day after the Senate Committee of the Whole released its report.
On Tuesday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the committee is recommending the filing of embezzlement and corruption charges against Duque and several other senior PhilHealth officials for alleged “improper” and “illegal” implementation of the refund mechanism. provisional (MRI).
Sotto said the charges must be brought against him because of “his gross abuse of discretion or gross negligence in determining the beneficiary of the IRM without valid criteria for distribution.”
But Duque disagreed, calling the findings “unfounded.”
“The Senate committee made unsubstantiated findings based solely on mere accusations. I was implemented in the IRM (interim reimbursement mechanism) when it was not even part of the deliberation and I did not sign said resolution, ”Duque said at the House hearing.
“Not a shadow when my signature is not visible,” added the Secretary of Health.
In an earlier statement, Duque called the aforementioned Senate recommendation “unfortunate” and said he intends to “clear my name.”
“This is not the best time for the Executive to have a difference with the Legislature, but two weeks ago I went to the Senate to shed light on the issues based on my personal knowledge,” said Duque.
“As I have stated previously, I will cooperate with any investigation into the matter by interested government agencies. I certainly intend to clear my name, ”he added.
EDV
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