MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Ombudsman has ordered senior officers of the Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) Corp. suspended for six months as it continues its probe into corruption allegations at the state insurer.
The STAR on Wednesday reported that Ombudsman Samuel Martires issued two separate orders directing the suspension of several officers of the state insurer.
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.@OmbudsmanPh orders 6-month suspension of 13 execs of PhilHealth including SVP for Management Services Sector Dennis Mas, SVP for Health Finance Policy Sector Israel Pargas, SVP for Legal Sector Rodolfo Del Rosario Jr. & VP for Corporate Affairs Shirley Domingo. | @marcelo_beth pic.twitter.com/3GA37aAb8Y
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) August 19, 2020
In one order, Martires ordered the six-month suspension of the following:
- Senior Vice President for Management Services Sector Dennis Mas
- Vice President for Corporate Affairs Group Shirley Domingo
- Senior Vice President for Legal Sector Rodolfo Del Rosario Jr
- Senior Vice President for Health Finance Israel Pargas
- Roy Ferrer
- Celestina Ma. Jude Dela Serna
- Ruben John Basa
- Raul Dominic Badilla
- Angelito Grande
- Lawrence Mijares
- Leila Tuazon
In another order, Martires ordered the suspension of Ferrer, Basa, Grande, Eugenio Donatos II, and Vice President of Quality Assurance Group Clementine Bautista.
PhilHealth CEO Ricardo Morales was not covered by the suspension order, but he had earlier filed for medical leave. It was found that he has been undergoing treatment for cancer.
In a Twitter post, PhilHealth said it has yet to receive a copy of the Ombudsman order. “As of this time, the concerned officers are not aware of the charges against them,” it added.
The state insurer also said they will issue a full statement once they received a copy of the order.
PhilHealth has yet to receive a copy of the Ombudsman Order supposedly placing some of its senior officers under preventive suspension. As of this time, the concerned pic.twitter.com/VzvnoZiIIX
— PhilHealth (@teamphilhealth) August 19, 2020
The Office of the Ombudsman is part of the “Task Force PhilHealth” created by President Rodrigo Duterte, and headed by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
Guevarra told reporters that the Ombudsman’s actions are “independent” and “taken within the larger framework of Task Force PhilHealth.”
The Senate on Tuesday resumed its legislative inquiry into corruption allegations surrounding PhilHealth, which include alleged 300 PhilHealth-accredited hospitals’ claims unpaid, overpricing of the controversial information technology budget of the agency and supposed impropriety in the disbursement of its Interim Reimbursement Mechanism.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III reportedly said on Wednesday that he will order the termination of the legislative prove into PhilHealth. — Kristine Joy Patag with a report from The STAR/Elizabeth Marcelo