MANILA – A House of Representatives committee has recommended the filing of charges against Health secretary Francisco Duque III and former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president Ricardo Morales.
Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor said Friday that the charges against Duque, who also chairs the PhilHealth Board, Morales and other officials were in connection with the alleged anomalies in PhilHealth.
“‘Yung kay secretary Duque, dalawa ‘yung case na nakapailalim sa loob ng report,” said Defensor, who heads the House Committee on Public Accounts that investigated PhilHealth.
According to Defensor, the first case against Duque was for the reversal of the Court of Appeals’ ruling on the case of Cebu-based Perpetual Succor Hospital, which was found guilty of two counts of extending a patient’s period of confinement in violation of PhilHealth law.
PhilHealth has overturned the Court of Appeals decision by not imposing a three-month suspension and a P10,000 fine on the hospital. The state insurer instead penalized it with a P100,000 fine.
The second charge against Duque was the controversial interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM), which allowed PhilHealth to issue cash advances to healthcare institutions.
“Hindi naman natin sinasabi kaagad na guilty sila eh. Ang punto lang is dumaan sa Board, andoon sila as chairman of the Board and may mga approvals,” Defensor said.
“Ang sinasabi nga ni secretary Duque at that time hindi nga niya na-sign and there were people who signed, but let it be so, basta nandito ‘yung kaso and let them prepare the defense that they have,” he added.
Morales, on the other hand, will also be recommended for charges, according to Defensor.
“‘Yung sa kaniya naman, sa execomm (executive committee) dahil sila ang gumawa ng recommendation para ditto. Sila ‘yung nag-release ng pondo. So all those actions are covered in this report,” Defensor said.
Defensor added that among the complaints that will be recommended for Duque and Morales in relation to the IRM mess are for violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code on illegal use of public funds, as well as for administrative offenses for grave misconduct and grave neglect./PN
