Jail time for all corrupt PhilHealth execs vowed

Duterte: Yayariin ko kayong lahat

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has vowed to send to jail corrupt officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which is embroiled in a controversy over billions in funds allegedly lost to fraud and the purchase of supposedly overpriced equipment.

Duterte said he has to recover the money lost to purported anomalies in the state insurer, which gained the spotlight as the Philippines is grappling with the COVID-19 contagion.

“Huwag kayong magkakamali...itong PhilHealth. Sabi ko yayariin ko kayong lahat, maniwala kayo. Iyong mga inosente naman, wala kayong dapat i-ano, tahimik lang kayo at continue working (Make no mistake, PhilHealth. I told you, I will finish you all, believe me. If you are innocent, you don’t need to worry. Just continue working quietly),” the President said in a televised address aired Monday night.

“Nakalusot kayo sa ibang maybe presidente o ano pero dito sa akin, sadsad talaga kayo (You evaded other presidents, but there’s no escaping me),” he added.

Duterte said he would get the “true” figures of PhilHealth’s finances from the Commission on Audit (COA), one of the agencies in the multi-agency task force he formed to probe the issues hounding PhilHealth.

Other members of the task force led by the Department of Justice are the Office of the Ombudsman, Civil Service Commission, Office of the Executive Secretary, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and Palace Undersecretary Melchor Quitain.

The task force is empowered to conduct lifestyle checks and to slap preventive suspensions on anyone linked to anomalies in PhilHealth.

“I will really send these sons of b****** to jail... I will recover (the funds)... if the ombudsman summons you... you can’t say no. I think the ombudsman will be pissed off. You will just be dismissed for refusing to obey the order,” Duterte said.

“With the help of Cabinet members, I won’t brag but these are simple people. Why? Why are they really helping me to get rid of you? If possible I would kill you. You know why? Because simply they love their country,” he added.

Among the irregularities tied to PhilHealth are the alleged pocketing of some P15 billion by a “syndicate,” the acquisition of overpriced information technology equipment and coronavirus test kits, and the alleged overstating of hospital claims to the state-run insurer.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte would allow the task force to perform its mandate before acting on calls for him to name a new PhilHealth chief or a caretaker.

“The President formed the task force, which has extraordinary powers, including the power to impose preventive suspension. He will allow the task force to move. He will respect the decision of the task force... He will wait for the actions of the task force,” Roque said at a press briefing yesterday.

“(Justice) Secretary Meynard Guevarra, the chairman of the task force, said they can immediately issue an order for preventive suspension. Whether he (Duterte) would assign a new president of PhilHealth, the President has not spoken much about it,” he added.

Roque assured the public that there would be no leadership vacuum if PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales, who is suffering from lymphoma, goes on leave. Morales has been advised by his doctor to take a leave of absence to undergo chemotherapy.

“Whatever the final decision of general Morales is, there would be a system in place to ensure that the work would continue,” Roque said.

“The President wishes president Morales speedy recovery. He won’t be harsh on anyone who said he is suffering from a serious illness. We wish him the best and we hope that he recovers right away,” he added.