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CEBU CITY, Philippines- A labor group here is calling for the resignation of top officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) amid allegations of corruption involving billions of pesos.
Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo – Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU), in a press release issued to the media on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, said they “strongly demand” for the removal of office executive officers from PhilHealth accused of pocketing funds while an investigation is being conducted to shed light on the issue.
“(We) strongly demands to remove from office the executive officers involved in the lost P15 billion fund of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) while an investigation is ongoing,” said Jaime Paglinawan, AMA Sugbo-KMU chairperson.
The group said members of the state-run firm’s executive committee had become a “disgrace” to the nation amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.
Read: PhilHealth officials ordered to present SALNs in House probe
“The PhilHealth is evidently necessary for a time of health crisis such as this COVID-19 pandemic, where millions are relying on the agency to shoulder the cost of medical equipment and services. It is no doubt disgraceful that PhilHealth executives prioritized filling their own pockets over the lives of millions of Filipinos,” said Paglinawan.
They also called to hold present PhilHealth President Ricardo Morales accountable for “this shameful corruption scandal.”
“We will not accept anything less than their removal from the position. Once the investigation further proves their corruption, they must return the stolen funds and be punished for their crime. The Filipino people deserve justice,” Paglinawan said.
“Morales cannot keep running away or denying these allegations when all the evidence is there… Once the investigation further proves the corruption, these PhilHealth execs must pay back the stolen funds and answer to their crimes,” he added.
PhilHealth is currently under hot waters after its former anti-fraud legal officer-turned-whistleblower Thorrsson Montes Keith claimed that a total of P15 billion was pocketed by the “PhilHealth mafia.”
According to Keith, the “PhilHealth mafia” was composed of several members of PhilHealth’s executive committee.
A Senate hearing is being conducted to shed light on the scandal that has also drawn the ire of netizens in the past few days. Among the concerns raised during the investigation were bloated prices of several projects and components related to PhilHealth’s Information Technology (IT) department such as overpriced software programs and laptops.
Morales, for his part, denied being a “coddler” for the officials accused in the scandal. /bmjo
READ MORE: Morales denies being ‘coddler’ of PhilHealth corruption syndicate