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Manila, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte will respect the findings of the task force he created to investigate corruption allegations plaguing the Philippine Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Malacañang said on Monday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the task force was given investigative powers and believes the president will accept the results of its investigation.
“He gave the power to make the task force that he formed a fact finder, and I think because he formed that, he will accept the fact discovery of his own task force,” he said.
The task force, formed in early August and headed by Attorney General Menardo Guevarra, presented its report on fraud and accusations against PhilHealth executives to the CEO on Monday, September 14.
In a statement, Guevarra said that the result of his 30-day investigation “will attempt to present the general environment at PhilHealth that allows fraud and corruption,” as well as specific cases in which fraudulent or corrupt acts have been perpetrated.
However, he did not release any details of the report or the names of those whom they would recommend indicting.
Last week, the task force concluded its hearings on the alleged anomalies within PhilHealth after interviewing several witnesses and specialists, and gathered some documents. He also used transcripts of records provided by the Senate and House panels that conducted a separate investigation into the PhilHealth disaster.
His investigation included the alleged inability of PhilHealth’s IT systems to detect fraudulent claims, and the thousands of cases against employees of health care agencies and institutions that have been mistaken and that have not been filed.
Although the task force has already completed its investigation, Guevarra said investigations and special audits on PhilHealth transactions will continue.
“But our composite teams will continue their ongoing investigations and special audits and will file legal actions as they complete case after case,” he said.
Task Force PhilHealth is a multi-agency team comprised of representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman, the Audit Commission, the Civil Service Commission and the Office of the President, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President, Anti-Council of Money Laundering, National Directorate of Investigations and National Prosecutor’s Office. – RRD (with details from correspondent Dante Amento)
