By Fernan Angeles
EXCEPT for Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) President Ricardo Morales, all 13 executives of the embattled state insurer were slapped with a six-month suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In issuing the six-month suspension, Ombudsman Samuel Martires cited the need to keep the PhilHealth officials away from the agency to ensure unhampered investigation at the agency which has been grabbing headlines over reports of massive corruption to the tune of P154 billion.
Interestingly, Morales is not among those who were suspended.
The highest officials suspended are Dennis Mas, Senior Vice President (SVP) for Management Services Sector; Israel Pargas, SVP for health finance and policy sector; Shirley Domingo, Vice President for Corporate Affairs Group and Rodolfo Del Rosario, legal sector chief.
Martires issued two sets of suspension order. The first order had Roy Ferrer, Celestina Ma Jude dela Serna, Ruben John Basa, Dennis Mas, Shirley Domingo, Rodolfo Del Rosario, Raul Dominic Badilla, Israel Pargas, Angelito Grande, Lawrence Mijares and Leila Tuazon suspended for six months with pay.
The second document had Roy Ferrer, Ruben John Basa, Clementine Bautista, Angelito Grande and Eugenio Donatos II.
Sought for an explanation behind the two separate orders, Martires said that each set represents culpabilities they saw for a particular transaction.
The Office of the Ombudsman is “cooperating” with President Rodrigo Duterte’s designated task force which is led by the Department of Justice.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had earlier said “it was agreed that any action by the agencies regarding PhilHealth will be coordinated through the Task Force and any action towards the prosecution of PhilHealth officers and employees and their cohorts will be made through the Task Force and with the endorsement of the Secretary of Justice.”
PhilHealth whistleblower, resigned anti-fraud legal officer Thorsson Montes Keith, accused Del Rosario of sitting on fraud investigations “but did nothing and sat on the case for more than a year.”
Keith also said Del Rosario “had plenty of travels” to Balanga, Bataan in the same time period where more than P9 million in PhilHealth benefit claims meant for hospitals in the Cagayan Valley Region was allegedly diverted to a rural bank in Bataan in May 2019.
Del Rosario has disputed Keith’s allegations.
Del Rosario was among the officials who cited health reasons for skipping a congressional hearing. Later, he would sign a bank secrecy waiver on the urging of lawmakers.