Teams given 30 days to fully probe PhilHealth mess: DOJ

The task force has initially recommended the filing of criminal complaints against some PhilHealth officials.  (File Photo: Philippine Health Insurance Corporation/Facebook)

MANILA – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday said the teams conducting further investigations into anomalies in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) have a month to submit the results of their probe, including the possible liability of some individuals.

“We’ll ask the composite teams to finish their investigations on the IT and legal sectors in 30 days. Then, we’ll prepare the complaints if there’s enough evidentiary basis. We’ll start once (PhilHealth) President and Chief Executive Officer Dante Gierran has assumed office within the week,” Guevarra told reporters.

Aside from the Department of Justice (DOJ), each team also consists of representatives from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and Office of the Special Assistant to the President.

The initial report submitted by the Task Force Philhealth to the President on Monday concluded that the totality of the evidence “supports the reasonable conclusion that wrongful acts or omissions on the part of certain key corporate officers of PhilHealth have been committed”.

It added that such negligence gives rise to both administrative and criminal liability under the following: (1) R.A. No. 3019 for Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; (2) the Revised Penal Code for Malversation of Public Funds or Property and Illegal Use of Public Funds or Property; and Gross Misconduct and Gross Neglect of Duty, among others, under Civil Service laws.

The task force also noted that the failure to withhold taxes constitutes a violation of the National Internal Revenue Code.

“While it found the Board negligent in some of its decisions, the Task Force nevertheless noted that such negligence was “mitigated by the active concealment of vital documents and the apparent misrepresentation by those who have sought the Board’s approval,” the report said.

The task force has initially recommended the filing of criminal complaints against some PhilHealth officials.