PhilHealth chief can be criminally charged if he delays UHC implementation — Roque
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday said that Philippine Health Insurance Corp. President and CEO Ricardo Morales could be criminally charged if he fails to implement the Universal Health Care Law.
"This is a law that has to be implemented. It is not his discretion to implement it or not. If he does [not], then he commits a criminal act, in fact. He will not just be removed, it is a criminal act, he can be prosecuted because you cannot violate a law passed by Congress," Roque told ANC.
Roque and Morales have gone back and forth over irregularities within the state-run agency and the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law.
The presidential spokesperson, who is also the law's primary author, recently called Morales' suggestion to suspend implementation of the UHC unlawful.
He reiterated these claims today, saying "at this time of pandemic, you cannot delay what the president has promised: that when you get sick of [COVID-19], then the state will pay through PhilHealth."
Morales last Friday projected P100 billion in revenue shortfall for the agency starting next year until 2024.
To stop the “financial hemorrhage,” Morales said the agency is beginning to “identify which benefits [can be] suspend temporarily” while waiting for normalcy to return and premium collections to recover.
The problem involved the ambitious UHC law enacted last year, which was poised for a pilot run this year until it was halted by the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, premium collections from members dropped, while a hike on monthly fees from overseas workers were halted in April following public backlash.
The presidential spokesperson has pushed for PhilHealth officials, including Morales, to meet with the president to discuss the issue. Morales responded by saying it was "too soon" to do so.
"If he needs additional funds, [he should] say so because the legislators will consider [it]. And if need be, the president will certify the need for further funding as urgent so that Congress can act on it. But this is a matter that even the PhilHealth president cannot decide on his own because it is the law," Roque said on Wednesday.
Corruption allegations
The presidential spokesperson has long insisted that problems at PhilHealth stem from corrupt officials.
He previously pushed Morales to order administrative investigations of officials linked to corruption even if there are already pending cases against them with the Office of Ombudsman or with the courts.
Morales on Monday denied allegations that there are syndicates defrauding the agency.
He said at a press briefing that while there may be “inefficiencies” in their operations including the processing of claims, there is no syndicate or “group of people colluding to defraud the corporation [on] that scale.”
Morales has also accused Roque of angling to replace him as PhilHealth chief. The presidential spokesperson denied this, saying it would be a "demotion."
The PhilHealth chief has also maintained that his agency submitted "voluminous documents" to the National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission to support the filing of cases against 20 executives and employees.
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