Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 8) — The spokesperson of beleaguered Philippine Health Insurance Corporation said Saturday the state-run agency is prepared to face the investigation of the multi-agency task force on alleged corruption within the organization.
“Handang-handa ho kami sa imbestigasyon na ‘yon, at we welcome po these investigations para mabigay naman ‘yung side ng Philhealth in all these corruption issues po,” PhilHealth spokesperson Shirley Domingo told CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Weekend on Saturday.
[Translation: We are ready for the said investigation, and we welcome these investigations as a chance to air our side in all these corruption issues.]
On Friday, President Rodrigo Duterte issued a memorandum directing the Department of Justice to create a multi-agency power to probe and conduct lifestyle checks on personnel of the government health insurance agency.
On the same day, Guevarra confirmed receiving the order, and formed Task Force PhilHealth.
In marathon hearings in Congress this week, a resigned officer and a concurrent official of PhilHealth made serious corruption allegations against top executives of the agency.
Thorrsson Montes Keith, resigned anti-fraud officer of PhilHealth, told a Senate hearing that its senior executives have stolen some ₱15 billion from the agency using different fraudulent schemes. On Friday, PhilHealth and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales refuted “in strongest terms” Keith’s allegation.
In the same legislative inquiry, PhilHealth board member Alejandro Cabading, a certified public accountant, claimed there were items in the 2020 budget proposed by PhilHealth’s information and communication technology department that “do not add up,” saying some of these were overpriced. In response, Morales insisted that there were no irregularities in the IT budget proposal.
