Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The country’s health insurance program, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Tuesday announced a new acting head of the agency.
In a meeting held Tuesday, PhilHealth’s board of directors unanimously picked Dr. Celestina Ma. Jude P. De la Serna as interim president and chief executive officer.
De la Serna is an appointive member of the Board representing overseas Filipino workers.
Her selection as PhilHealth head follows the resignation of interim President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Hildegardes C. Dineros, which was reportedly confirmed by DOH on Monday. Dineros remains on the board as the representative of the Informal Economy Sector.
Founded in 1995, PhilHealth provides health insurance to over 89 million Filipinos, some 88 percent of the population, according to government figures in 2015.
De la Serna served as the Chief of Hospital of Maribojoc Community Hospital and Congressman Natalio P. Castillo Sr. Memorial Hospital in Bohol.
Infighting among health authorities?
Dineros’ resignation came after he went head to head with Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial over his controversial reassignment of around 40 personnel, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said.
The report noted that the infighting could cost “up to P200 million” in investment earnings after a “memo investing P2.5 billion of PhilHealth funds in Retail Treasury Bond was left unsigned.”
Ubial, however, said there was no need for Dineros to hesitate.
“He was afraid to sign it. Because it’s 2.5 billion… I told him, it’s not policy-determining or discretionary because it was a board decision,” Ubial told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
Ubial added that the new PhilHealth head, De la Serna, was free to sign the memo.
Overstepping boundaries?
Ubial said Dineros was mistaken in signing “a corporate personnel order moving 43 of the senior staff of the corporation to different assignments” since he was serving in the interim, and was not a permanent official.
“[It was] a misunderstanding of what Dr. Dineros can do as interim CEO and what he could actually refer to the Chairperson of the Board, [who] is myself, for execution and authorization,” said the Health Secretary.
His resignation came after “he realized that there were a lot of things that he thought [were] within his powers” but were not, she added.
“Much as we want to provide him with all the powers that he needed, it’s the law that only the President can designate can designate or assign or commission a president and CEO on a permanent basis,” she added.
Ubial even considered Dineros’ approval of the order was “tantamount to abuse.”
Dineros was appointed on March 7 to replace Ramon Aristoza, whose designation was withdrawn after the board “lost trust and confidence” in him.
The PhilHealth Board of Directors is composed of seven sectoral representatives and 10 ex-officio members from various government agencies, including the secretary of DOH, who chairs the board.
