HINIMAY ni Senador Panfilo Lacson ang multi-bilyong pangungurakot ng sindikatong mafia sa Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) sa ginaganap na imbestigasyon ng Committee of the Whole ng Senado.

Sa kanyang opening statement, sinabi ni Lacson na lubha nang marumi at tila mabahong kanal ang PhilHealth na monopolisado ng matataas na opisyal na hindi nawawalan ng pamamaraan kung
paano kukurakutin ang pondo ng ahensiya.

“And for good reason. PhilHealth is a murky, stinking swamp that many of its good and well- meaning people from the officials to their rank-and-file employees want drained, not just of some
corrupt but well-entrenched officials who do not seem to run out of malevolent schemes to enrich themselves, but of a deeply rooted, mafia-like syndicate that controls the resources of the corporation, and habitually manipulate its financial records, that even the COA seems helpless in the conduct of their regular audit,” paliwanag ni Lacson.

“If we look closely enough, the story only revolves around the same cast of characters – a circle of high-ranking officials who manage to hog their seats despite the change of leadership and detailed
anomalies that we already unearthed in the past,” dagdag ni Lacson.

Ayon kay Lacson, ito ang ilan sa mga anomalya na kanyang natuklasan sa ahensiya:

· Sangkot si Atty. Rodolfo “Jojo” del Rosario, ngayon ay Senior Vice President ng Legal Sector, sa masalimuot na isyu: bilang signatory ng “conflict of interest” na kontrata sa pag-upa sa pagitan ng  Duque-owned Educational and Medical Development Corporation (EMDC) at PhilHealth sa tanggapan nito sa Region 1; at bilang OIC ng IT Management Department na nilustay ang multi- milyong kontribusyon ng Accenture, Inc. noong 2012; at dalawang magkakasunod na Zero Performance Ratings ng Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) sa Legal Sector.

· Minanipula rin nina Dr. Israel “Ish” Fargas, ang SVP for Health Finance Policy Sector; at Corporate Secretary Jonathan Mangaoang, ang alegasyon ng PhilHealth Board’s grave abuse of discretion sa pamamagitan ng pagbaligtad ng final at executory judgment ng Court of Appeals sa tatlong buwang suspensiyon ng Perpetual Succor Hospital’s at multang P10,000.

Nagbulag-bulagan din si Dr. Fargas sa notoryus at maling patakaran na tinawag na All Case Rate or ACR Payment Scheme ng PhilHealth kaya nalugi nang malaki ang ahensiya sa overpayment at
panloloko;

· Akusado si Mr. Dennis Mas, SVP for Management Services Sector, sa Ombudsman bilang sangkot sa scam na pamemeke ng resibo sa Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) at
nabigo rin siyang ilantad ang undesirable record ng limang na-promote na PhilHealth personnel sa kabila ng pagkakasangkot sa bigtime scam.

Sinabi pa ni Lacson na sa loob ng limang taon, mula 2014 hanggang 2018 – na wala sa website ng

COA and 2019 report, ibinahagi ng senador ang mga sumusunod:
* December 31, 2018 – Disallowances: P6.64 Billion
* December 31, 2017 – Disallowances: P6.12 Billion
* December 31, 2016 – Disallowances: P5.08 Billion
* December 31, 2015 – Disallowances: P5.02 Billion
* December 31, 2014 – Disallowances: P3.98 Billion

“Notice PhilHealth’s recurring pattern of violations of auditing rules in terms of suspensions, disallowances and charges,” ayon kay Lacson.

Ngayon, aniya, Kahit sa gitna ng global pandemic, nagpapatuloy ang PhilHealth na harapin ang sunod-sunod na anomalya, na kinasasangkutan ng tatlong mamahalagang isyu na inaalam natin.
Aniya, kabilang dito ang:

1. PhilHealth’s overpriced ICT equipment;
2. Manipulation of PhilHealth’s financial statements; at
3. The highly irregular implementation of advanced payments to health care institutions through the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism policy, among other corrupt practices.

“We dare ask: Why would maternity care package providers and freestanding dialysis centers which do not even cater to COVID-19 patients receive COVID-19 advance payments from PhilHealth? You can see P226M released to freestanding dialysis centers and P4.7M released package providers,” tanong ni Lacson.

Inihalimbawa ni Lacson ang limang sangay ng pribadong freestanding dialysis center, ang Braun Avitum Dialysis Center Manila, na kamakailan tumanggap ng kabuuang P45,176,518 sa loob
lamang ng ilang araw. Habang ang Ospital ng Maynila, isang public hospital sa kabila ng ilang apela, hindi pa binabayaran ng PhilHealth ang kanilang reimbursement sa halagang P19M.

“Suffice it to say Mr. President, this is the reason why we are gathered here yet again to conduct this inquiry not only in aid of legislation, but more importantly in aid of the more than 104M
members and dependents of PhilHealth, as well as all the taxpayers of this country,” ayon kay Lacson. (ESTONG REYES)