PhilHealth senior execs asked to submit courtesy resignation – Palace

October 2, 2020

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. president and CEO Dante Gierran has asked the senior executives of the agency to submit their courtesy resignation, Malacanang said on Friday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told CNN Philippines that Gierren made such a request in order for him to immediately effect the reorganization in the corrupt-laden state health insurer.

"Attorney Gierran knows that he does not have much time. And that's why I think it was important for him to request all the senior executives to file their courtesy resignations because that's the fastest way that we can reorganize," he said.

Roque said the Palace supports Gierran's move.

"We're confident that he will have very good information that will guide him on whose resignation to accept and whose resignations to reject," he said.

He expressed hope that the PhilHealth chief will be guided by the findings of the Senate investigation and that of the Task Force PhilHealth led by the Department of Justice as to who among the agency's officials have to go as well as those who will remain.

President Rodrigo Duterte has given Gierran until the end of the year to clean PhilHealth of corrupt officials.

He made the directive following the alleged massive corruption and the reported P15 billion missing funds due to fraudulent schemes in the agency.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, head of the Tak Force PhilHealth, has said that criminal and administrative charges would be filed against some PhilHealth officials, including its former president and CEO Ricardo Morales.

Meanwhile, on the proposal to privatize PhilHealth, Roque said this would go against the "very principle of Universal Health Care."

"Universal Health Care is distinguished from private health insurance because it is, number one, a discharge of state obligation to promote the right to health; and it is a commitment that although members will have to pay their dues, in reality, the dues will not be enough and the balance will, of course, be paid for by the government. And that is why, I think, the concept of privatization is simply antithetical and inconsistent with the concept of Universal Health Care," he said.

Earlier, Duterte said Congress might pass a law abolishing PhilHealth. Celerina Monte/DMS