Negros Occidental in the vortex of controversies

A province can be in the vortex of a controversy or controversies. And that is what happened in the case of Negros Occidental where a part of the southern Negros highway is among those mentioned by the World Bank as rigged with massive corruption because of collusion.

But the province, too, could get into the headlines with the report that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has filed cases against several prominent ophthalmologists and private hospitals for alleged unscrupulous claims of reimbursements.

What makes it doubly dramatic was the fact that PhilHealth regional officials said the “scam” threatens the viability of the health insurance system itself.

Provincial board member Dr. Melvin Ibañez has taken cognizance of the PhilHealth issue to conduct an in-depth investigation into the alleged anomalies.

Ibañez is also asking the congressmen from the province to have Congress probe the irregularities even if the charges have already been filed.

The board member contended that he doesn’t want the PhilHealth to be destroyed as the Medicare program before. How does the situation go? Local ophthalmologists tempt cataract patients through medical missions, which are normally proclaimed as free eye treatment.

Prospective beneficiaries are told that everything is free, including the cataract operation, medicine and follow-ups.

The unknowing beneficiaries’ membership fees and remittances are reportedly paid for about a quarter to PhilHealth either by the physicians or their sponsors. The operation is then undertaken and reimbursements ranging from P10,000 to P15,000 are claimed from PhilHealth.

Some ophthalmologists reportedly even hire runners who are paid from P300 to P500 per patient they could bring in.

I perused recently an investigation into the anomaly by a private research foundation. It detailed anomalies, including claims by private hospitals for reimbursements of clinical and laboratory examination, including post-operation hospitalization.

But I did not mention those research findings because among those not included is one ophthalmologist whose name was recently dragged into the present case.

The study was undertaken in 2003 after PhilHealth reportedly reimbursed P394 million for cataract operations plus laboratory exams.

As a matter of fact, that incident prompted a foreign foundation to scrap its local outreach program, which included Oriental Negros.

The problem is that some of the top ophthalmologists of the province and private hospitals are involved. But the problem is, if it’s going to bring down PhilHealth, there can be washing of hands on the anomaly. It can run aground an insurance system and affect mostly the poor.

STL row rages

The small town lottery seems to have split apart the province and other areas of Western Visayas.

In the case of Negros Occidental, the Diocese of Bacolod is bent on continuing its opposition to the numbers game in the face of the approval of its one-year testing by the Sangguniang Panglunsod of Bacolod.

Fr. Tomas Rito and Msgr. Felix Pasquin, rector of the San Sebastian Cathedral, recently came out on TV with a plan to undertake a grassroots boycott.

In Aklan, the provincial board is at loggerheads with the association of local executives, which is batting for a one-year test of STL.

In Antique, the surprise was the report that Vice Gov. Rhodora Cadiao recently said that STL might resume operation in the province after failing to muster the support of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

STL is backed by most town mayors. But the startling thing was that Cadiao reported that she was offered P3 million for her nod to the resolution authorizing the STL operation.

Most board members, she added, are against gambling. She also stressed that she is opposed to the move, pointing out that Antique has been consistently cited as a jueteng-free province.

She observed that in Aklan, many local government executives have started to back out from their endorsement of STL. She hopes that the same could happen in Antique where Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez has strongly bucked the STL proposal.

“Although poor, Antiqueños do not believe in the game of chance,” she said

ADDENDA. Antique’s Jovenal Magno recently won as president of the Philippine Youth Association. A talented youth leader, Magno, 24, is a native of Laua-an town. Last Aug. 12-22, they went to China and Mongolia to attend the 2nd Youth and International Youth Leaders Meeting… In Negros, meanwhile, retired American serviceman Victor Pearson, 59, was transferred to the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City. Pearson was meted an eight-year prison sentence for two counts of rape. Despite that, he still has another pending case of rape before the Kabankalan Regional Trial Court. The judge followed the memorandum circular of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno to transfer high-risk detainees to the New Bilibid Prisons. Pearson was a US Marine Corps member from Oregon who took up residence in Ilog, Negros Occidental.