MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said government will settle the multi-million debt incurred by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to the Philippine Red Cross, after the organization stopped its coronavirus tests funded by the state insurer.
Red Cross announced last week that it had been pushed to make the difficult decision of halting its COVID-19 screenings with "no single centavo" paid from PhilHealth's total of P930 million overdue amount.
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In his weekly address, Duterte said government is looking to resolve the matter, but admitting too that it will take time to pay the said amount.
"We're just looking for a way to present the solution to COA and the budget department," he said in mixed Filipino and English. "We'll look for the money. Our priority will remain providing medical treatment and attention."
The organization's move is seen to affect ongoing tests for returning OFWs, those in mega swabbing facilities as well as individuals covered by the expanded testing guidelines of the health department. Private and public-run laboratories across the country have conducted over four million coronavirus tests, with Red Cross accounting for more than a million.
Duterte said he would meet with Red Cross' chairman, Sen. Richard Gordon, over the matter as he said government is stretching its resources to continue its virus response.
"I do not think Senator Gordon would have it in his mind to stop..[but] what I'm really trying to say is we will pay," he said. "Money has always been a problem everywhere. We are trying to make both ends meet."
Latest figures from the health department showed that there are a total of 147 facilities screening samples in the country, or 112 RT-PCR and 35 GeneXpert laboratories. Both the agency and PhilHealth have said that particular testing labs could shoulder in the meantime those that were supposed to be screened by Red Cross.
PhilHealth had been the subject of corruption allegations in the past months at a time when the country is struggling hard with an ongoing health crisis.
The agency's executive officials were said to have amassed some P15 billion in questionable deals as alleged by a whistleblower, apart from expensive IT contracts and reimbursement issues to private hospitals.
Duterte has formed a task force led by the justice department to probe and charge officials involved, and he has put to task new PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran to rid the agency of corruption by the end of the year.
The President has also brought up the possibility of privatizing the state insurer, something Gierran had opposed but was supported by Health Secretary Franciso Duque III.