Senate probes alleged P15B PhilHealth corruption, fund collapse fears

Updated Thu, August 6, 2020 at 9:27 PM Published Mon, August 3, 2020 at 11:10 PM

The Senate is investigating alleged multi-billion peso corruption within PhilHealth, with a whistleblower claiming a "mafia" has pocketed approximately PHP15 billion.

Concerns exist that the health fund might collapse by 2022 due to these anomalies and the pandemic.

Senator Grace Poe questioned PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales about corruption, the agency's financial status, an allegedly overpriced IT system project, and questionable reimbursements.

Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara called for the presence of the Commission on Audit (COA), the Governance Commission on GOCCs (GCG), and PHILGEPS in the next hearing to investigate PhilHealth anomalies.

Angara believes the leadership should have ensured there would be no overpricing despite the need for a strong IT system to crack down on fraud and improve efficiency.

Senator Panfilo Lacson expressed hesitation to support additional funding for PhilHealth due to the alleged corruption.

Lacson stated that Congress would be willing to support an IT system upgrade to stem fraud but emphasized the need for serious reforms before entrusting more funds.

It was revealed during a Senate hearing that PhilHealth's actuarial life is down to just a year, and the Commission on Audit is having difficulty conducting an audit.

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House of Representatives Senate PhilHealth Panfilo Lacson Commission on Audit Grace Poe

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