Pangilinan: Public health experience is needed to run PhilHealth
MANILA, Philippines — Amid the raging pandemic and the alleged corruption plaguing the Phiippine Health Insurance Corp., Sen. Kiko Pangilinan on Tuesday said the state-run insurer needs a leader with public health and financial expertise, not experience in law enforcement.
This comes after new PhilHealth president and CEO Dante Gierran, a recent retiree from the National Bureau of Investigation, admitted that he has no prior knowledge or experience when it comes to public health.
"I'm very scared. I'm scared because I don't know the operations of PhilHealth. Unlike NBI, I knew the operations of NBI. But PhilHealth, wala. I do not know about public health," Gierran told ANC's "Headstart."
"What I know about is financial management, having been a certified public accountant, and insurance," he added.
"I have serious misgivings about [Gierran's] appointment given that we clearly need a more holistic rather than a simplistic law enforcement approach to the cancer confronting PhilHealth in particular and the COVID health crisis in general," Pangilinan said in response.
"His predecessor too had no public health experience and that ended terribly for PhilHealth," the senator said, referring to the agency's former chief Ricardo Morales who resigned for health reasons amid three separate investigations into allegations of corruption and mismanagement against the state-run insurer's executives.
Pangilinan further cited Section 14 of the Universal Health Care Act which stipulates "that the Board cannot recommend a President and CEO of PhilHealth unless the member is a Filipino citizen and must have at least seven (7) years of experience in the field of public health, management, finance, and health economics or a combination of any of these expertise."
The PhilHealth Workers for Hope, Integrity, Transparency, and Empowerment expressed disappointment over Gierran's appointment, saying Duterte should have tapped a finance expert for the job. Despite this, the worker's group said it was ready to support the new PhilHealth chief.
Lacson: Gierran a good man
Meanwhile, Sen. Ping Lacson on the same day expressed his support for Gierran, calling him a "good man," but flagged the difficulties awaiting the embattled agency's new chief.
"I hope and I mean it — that PhilHealth will not be Dante's Inferno as he faces the challenges of his new mission," Lacson said.
"As a former chief of the National Bureau of Investigation, he should have no trouble coordinating with the powerhouse task force led by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, his former boss, to implement much-needed reforms in PhilHealth," he added.
However, Lacson cautioned him against "[falling] victim to manipulation by parties inside and outside of the agency who have caused the state insurer to lose billions of pesos to corruption — not just for his sake, but for all Filipinos covered by PhilHealth."
Palace: Gierran 'best choice' to lead PhilHealth
Malacañang on Tuesday stood firm on Gierran's appointment, calling him the "best choice" to lead the state-run insurer.
"Director Gierran already has seven years [of] management experience. It does not need to be health economics experience," Prsidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
According to Roque, President Duterte thought it best to appoint a new PhilHealth chief capable of conducting investigations in order to address corruption within the agency.
"Since the crimes being committed in PhilHealth are white collar crimes, we need someone who can understand financial reports, financial records, and balance statements I think Director Gierran is the best choice because he is a CPA and has an experience in criminal investigation," he added.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is facing scrutiny anew over more allegations of corruption.
It was in the headlines last year because of an alleged scam involving payments to WellMed Dialysis Center for treatments charged for a patient who had already died.
Follow this thread for updates.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation announces that the agency has released P500 million as partial payment to the Philippine Red Cross.
"PhilHealth takes exception to the insinuation that it is reckless and is playing on people’s lives. Its prudence in taking charge of its members’ hard-earned contributions is central to the state health insurer. Its exercise of judiciousness is to protect the people and their funds", PhiHealth President and CEO Dante Gierran says in a statement.
PhilHealth has released P50 million as partial payment to the Philippine Red Cross, PhilHealth President and CEO Dante Gierran says.
"PhilHealth takes exception to the insinuation that it is reckless and is playing on people’s lives. Its prudence in taking charge of its members’ hard-earned contributions is central to the state health insurer," Gierran says.
The state insurer adds that it will expedite the processing of its remaining balance to Red Cross following strict compliance to government accounting rules and regulations.
Two committees in the House approve a report recommending the filing of administrative and criminal charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, former PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales and other officials over the widespread corruption in the state health insurer.
President Rodrigo Duterte says the government will compensate the Philippine Red Cross for COVID-19 tests.
The Red Cross recently halted conducting tests due to the P930 million debt of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation for the conduct of COVID-19 tests for the government.
"I don't think Sen. (Richard) Gordon would have in his mind to stop. What I'm trying to say is we will pay," Duterte says in a recorded address aired Monday night.
The Philippine Red Cross will stop conducting COVID-19 tests chargeable to PhilHealth due to the state insurer's outstanding balance.
PRC says it will no longer receive specimens for testing of OFWs, those arriving in airports and seaports, individuals through mega swabbing facilities, frontline health and government workers, and others included in the expanded testing guidelines of the DOH.
"The PRC does not have unlimited resources to replenish the testing kits for its laboratories unless PhilHealth, its major creditor, settles its lawful obligations to the PRC," PRC says in a statement dated October 14.
- Latest
- Trending
