Philippines to sell real estate properties in Japan – Duterte

September 29, 2020

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that the government will sell its real estate properties in Japan to subsidize the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

In a taped televised message, Duterte said his administration has to raise money as he expressed his intention to reorganize the state health insurer.

"That's the reason why we're selling real estate properties in Japan because I have to raise money. There's no more money to pay for PhilHealth," he said.

He said that selling government property is the only remedy now.

In the recent Senate investigation on the alleged massive corruption in PhilHealth, one of its executives admitted that the state agency might run out of money by 2022 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A "mafia" in PhilHealth also allegedly stole some P15 billion from the agency using fraudulent schemes.

In a recent Twitter post, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. rejected plan to sell the Philippines' four real estate properties in Japan, which the government acquired as part of World War II reparations.

He has said that his office has sent a position paper to Congress opposing the sale. Celerina Monte/DMS