Ledesma resigns as PhilHealth chief amid legal questions, Mercado appointed

Emmanuel Ledesma, former president of PhilHealth, has resigned amid legal questions over the transfer of billions of pesos from PhilHealth to the national treasury and his struggle with the political demands of the role.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Edwin Mercado as the new chief of PhilHealth on January 4.

Dr. Mercado sees reform in areas like digitalization and benefit expansion under a pay-as-you-go system as key priorities for PhilHealth, emphasizing the need to study processes that require change to fulfill the president's directive on health services and benefits.

PhilHealth has transferred P60 billion to the national treasury so far, leaving only P29.9 billion in its coffers.

Ledesma's replacement came at the wake of criticisms for his alleged 'inefficient' utilization of the PhilHealth fund and calls from Congress to remove him and the entire PhilHealth board.