MANILA, Philippines — While Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon welcomed the resignation of PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales, he says the agency must be fully restructured to properly address its shortcomings.
Drilon warned that if major changes are not enacted on the state-run insurer's general structure, its problem with fraud will persist.
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"The long history of corruption within the corporation, across all levels, may be addressed by passing a law that would authorize the president to reorganize PhilHealth. This reorganization must be accompanied by a well-studied reorganization plan," he said.
The minority leader added that he made this same proposal to the Senate Committee of the Whole.
Proposals to help eliminate corruption
"The fit and proper rule should be strictly applied. The officials must be chosen based on their integrity, experience, education, training and competence, among others," he added.
Drilon further urged more active participation from the oversight body for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) in the process of appointing PhilHealth executives.
"The Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), as the governing body for government corporations, must actively and decisively perform its mandate as a central advisory, monitoring and oversight body of PhilHealth."
"The GCG should identify the necessary skills and qualifications required for appointive directors to the PhilHealth, and consider the suitability and qualifications of the candidates before submitting its recommendations to the President," he added.
Drilon also called on the agency to upgrade and outsource its information technology system — the use of which has been known to improve efficiency and reliability, as well as eliminate corruption, he said.
"Outsourcing services, like the development and provision of a reliable electronic health records and analytics system, specifically for membership data information collection and membership service, will enable PhilHealth to focus on expanding its operational reach, improving its benefit packages and accreditation mechanisms," he said.
In addition to outsourcing its IT system, Drilon said the state-run agency should also outsource the processing of its benefits claim "to avoid backlogs and reimbursement-delays."
The severe overpricing of items in its IT budget and the disproportionate distribution of PhilHealth's COVID-19 funds to hospitals, were among the allegations of corruption and mismanagement levelled against top executives of the agency.
PhilHealth former anti-fraud legal officer-turned-whistleblower Thorrsson Keith this month accused the state-run insurer's top executives of pocketing P15 billion worth of the agency's funds.
Top PhilHealth posts vacated
Morales told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo on Wednesday that he would be submitting his resignation to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea within the morning.
Later in the day, PhilHealth Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs Rodolfo Del Rosario Jr. confirmed to several news outlets that he tendered his own resignation on Monday.
Del Rosario was among the agency's officials who were put under a six-month suspension with no pay.
Sen. Ping Lacson welcomed both resignations from the top PhilHealth execs.
"Atty. del Rosario's irrevocable resignation is one of many reasons to hope for some good things to come in view of the ongoing [Justice Department]-led Task Force investigating the recent PhilHealth anomalies," he said.
"The paying members and all taxpayers who contribute to the state health insurance fund surely deserve a break from the cyclical corruption involving its top executives," Lacson added.
In a separate statement, the senator wished Morales well in his battle against cancer.
A health certificate submitted by Morales to the Senate revealed that he is currently receiving treatment for lymphoma or cancer of the lymph nodes.
"In spite of his possible complicity that could make him face some serious legal problems stemming from the report of the Senate Committee of the Whole, I still wish that he wins his bout against cancer and recovers," Lacson said.