Pay up, PhilHealth

The government-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has been ordered by Malacañang to settle its debts with some hospitals, so they can better treat COVID-19 patients.

The Philippine Hospital Association’s appeal for its hospital-members has made the Palace issue the order to PhilHealth.

PhilHealth president and CEO Dante Gierran has assured the public the agency was working overtime to process pending claims worth P25.6 billion.

PhilHealth accumulated that much in debts to private hospitals during the time of Gierran’s predecessor, Ricardo Morales.

The Palace “accepted” Morales’ resignation – a euphemism for being fired – after he cited health reasons for leaving the agency.

Morales was linked to immoral and illegal disbursements of PhilHealth funds to hospitals.

A syndicate within the agency was in cahoots with some hospitals and doctors which filed fraudulent claims. As a result, many hospitals which refused to fraternize with the syndicate did not get paid.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, ex-officio PhilHealth chairman, was also blamed for the irregular fund disbursements because a leader is supposed to know what’s happening in his turf.

President Digong replaced Morales with Gierran, a retired director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), because of the latter’s vaunted honesty and integrity while in the bureau.

Many honest hospitals and doctors welcomed Gierran’s appointment as they were left out in the payment of PhilHealth debts.

Gierran, however, is having difficulty cleaning up the Augean Stable as the in-house syndicate has taken root.

After Gierran took over, PhilHealth was able to pay P166 billion for about 13.6 million claims, which was 76 percent of the almost 18 million claims.

However, there are still more hospitals and doctors to pay.

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Morales’ appointment to PhilHealth is puzzling.

A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (Class 1977), he wasn’t holding any responsible position in the military when he retired as brigadier general.

He was able to ingratiate himself with President Digong because he also hails from Davao City.

Some of his contemporaries in the military considered Morales a snake for taking part in a plot to assassinate then president Ferdinand Marcos, who took him into his fold. In short, he bit the hand that fed him.

Morales has no background in finance which is needed as head of PhilHealth, which is entrusted with hundreds of billions of pesos in medical insurance.

In contrast, Gierran is a lawyer and a certified public accountant.

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Hong Kong does not allow Filipinos to enter the tour-eat-and-shop city even if they have vaccination cards.

Hong Kong authorities have probably read or heard reports about Filipinos carrying fake vaccination cards.

It’s a pity other countries regard Filipinos as dishonest.

One or two rotten eggs in a basket have made the good ones look rotten as well.

Before you condemn foreigners for regarding all of us as thieves, read on.

A friend and I entered a shop in Hong Kong’s tourist district a few years ago. Hearing us speak in Filipino, the store clerk followed us around.

We learned later that the shop was victimized by some Filipino shoplifters.

My son, Bon, found a wallet on the floor of a store in Tokyo and turned it over to the cashier. When the owner came to retrieve the wallet, he kept on bowing to my son as a sign of gratitude.

But Bon found the continuous bowing of the wallet owner to be too much and done too many times; he felt uncomfortable.

So, he asked his host, a long-time Filipino resident in Japan, why it was a big deal. He was told that Filipinos are considered dishonest.

In Saudi Arabia, when a Filipino enters a gold shop in a suk (flea market or bazaar), the owner becomes wary of his presence – the owner’s eyes home in on him.

Why? Because there were instances in the past when Filipino overseas contract workers were caught shoplifting in gold shops.

Saudi storekeepers don’t watch their wares and depend on the honesty of their customers. Shoppers get what they like and then pay for it at the cashier or leave the exact amount on the shelf where the item was taken.

In 2004, a Filipino second lieutenant who graduated valedictorian at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) was sent home from schooling in a US military camp after he was caught shoplifting in the camp’s commissary.

The schooling in the US was a reward to him by the Philippine government for graduating at the top of his class.

The Pinoy military officer has brought dishonor to our country in general and to the PMA in particular.

A PMA cadet’s motto is courage, integrity and loyalty, with emphasis on integrity.

The lieutenant, who didn’t resign his commission, did well later as a member of the Army Scout Rangers.

He apparently learned his lesson.

Past is past. What matters is now.

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Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo “Guilor” Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has chided Maj. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, head of the directorate for police community relations, for conducting personal data collection on some citizens.

Sermonia’s conduct was exposed by Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, himself a former PNP chief.

This is the same Sermonia accused by Mayor Arvin Salonga of San Antonio, Nueva Ecija as the brains in a failed assassination attempt on him.

Salonga claimed that Sermonia, then the regional police director of Central Luzon, had a motive for the attempted assassination.

The mayor said he had filed a case of abuse of authority against Sermonia with the Office of the Ombudsman.

The bad blood between the mayor and Sermonia stemmed from the latter’s relieving the police chief in his town without informing him or the local government.

What happened to the case filed by Salonga against Sermonia?