(Eagle News) — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Tuesday, Aug. 18, denied PhilHealth lost P154 billion to fraud, and that there were “preferred” hospitals in the release of funds under its Internal Reimbursement Mechanism.
Duque, who virtually attended the hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole on alleged irregularities in the state insurer, said based on a June 10, 2020 letter from Commission on Audit chair Michael Aguinaldo, there was no such finding in the published Commission on Audit annual audit reports.
“On the allegations of ‘palakasan’ system on the release of the IRM, we assure you there is none,” Duque, also chair of the PhilHealth Board of Directors, added.
PhilHealth has described the IRM as “a special privilege for the provision of substantial aid to an eligible Health Care Institution (HCI) directly hit by fortuitous event with clear and apparent intent to continuously operate and/or rebuild the HCI in order to provide continuous health care services to adversely affected Filipinos.”
It has been suspended amid ongoing probes, but the state insurer has stood by what it said was its legality, and the need for it.
PhilHealth benefits, however, including those for COVID-19 patients, have not been suspended.
“My commitment to safeguarding the sustainability of the fund is very personal and I would like to state for the record that I am zero tolerance for fraud and corruption,” Duque said.
