Charged PhilHealth execs’ fate up to Ombudsman: DOJ

MANILA – The fate of the officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) who were charged over anomalies in the state insurer is now up to the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday.

“The task force (against corruption) has already filed the complaints pertaining to the IRM (Interim Reimbursement Mechanism) with the Office of the Ombudsman. So we’ll leave it to the OMB to determine the effect of such liquidation on any administrative or criminal liability of the respondent Philhealth officials,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a message to reporters said.

This came after PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Dante Gierran on Tuesday said up to 92 percent of the PHP15 billion worth of the agency’s funds initially believed to have been lost to fraud has been liquidated.

Last year, former PhilHealth anti-fraud legal officer Thorsson Keith claimed that the funds went missing due to the IRM and overpriced equipment purchases which are among the fraudulent schemes of members of the state firm’s executive committee.

Earlier this month, the Task Force PhilHealth officially endorsed to the OMB the report of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) on its investigation on alleged fraudulent membership enrolment activities and benefit claims made at the PhilHealth Regional Office 1 (Northern Luzon).

Criminal and administrative complaints were recommended against 25 incumbent and former officials of the state health insurance firm, most of whom are from the regional office.

The charges include falsification of public documents under Article 171 in relation to Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC); malversation of public funds under Article 217 of the RPC, usurpation of authority under Article 177 of the RPC; violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; violations of the National Health Insurance Act of 1995, as amended by Republic Act 9241 and Republic Act 10606; and administrative liabilities for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, DOJ Assistant Secretary Neal Vincent Bainto said.

The charges stemmed from a fake account created at the PhilHealth Regional Office 1 under the name “Pamela Del Rosario” which had retroactive contributions applied and ante-dated.

It was found out that 27 fraudulent claims were then made under the account.

The report also recommended charging PhilHealth officials and employees tasked to investigate such an alleged fraudulent scheme and their consequent failure to prosecute those involved in the incident.