Press Release
July 25, 2020

Bigger and Badder: How PhilHealth Corruption Thrives Amid COVID-19

More at: https://pinglacson.net/2020/07/25/bigger-and-badder-how-philhealth-corruption-thrives-amid-covid-19

Corruption in PhilHealth seems to have become the rule rather than the exception. And the threat posed by COVID-19 seems to have emboldened rather than deterred it.

Just to cite an example: The newly instituted Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM), purportedly to support the national government's response to the COVID-19 threat, gives PhilHealth the authority to provide special privilege in the form of substantial aid to "eligible" Health Care Institutions (HCIs).

This new malevolent scheme led to the release of hundreds of millions of pesos in record time - in one or two weeks - to a few unaccredited hospitals that register only one COVID-19 patient.

That, and other mind-blowing controversies will be the focus of the Senate inquiry in the coming days when Congress starts its Second Regular Session.

The resolution that we are filing on Monday and the ensuing Committee of the Whole inquiry will show you how even the COVID-19 crisis has created more opportunities for systemic corruption in PhilHealth to flourish.

As long as the responsible officials are not made accountable for their misdeeds, PhilHealth will continue to bleed dry, thus running the risk of becoming bankrupt sooner than we think.

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