Duterte orders probe into alleged PhilHealth irregularities

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s procurement of an information technology system that reportedly caused a rift between some of the state insurance firm’s officials and its president and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales.

A meeting last Wednesday between Morales and his officials as well as some Cabinet secretaries saw some heated exchanges over the IT system and led to at least one PhilHealth official turning in his resignation letter on Thursday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed the resignation of lawyer Thorrsson Montes Keith, PhilHealth anti-fraud legal officer.

Roque said he only saw so far the resignation letter of Keith following reports that two others have resigned.

Roque told the Inquirer on Thursday that the President has “authorized” Undersecretary Jose Melchor Quitain, head of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President which in turn is under the Office of the President, to conduct the investigation.

“We enjoined all parties, including Keith, to fully cooperate with Undersecretary Quitain so we can get to the truth,” Roque said.

“In this time of the (Covid-19) pandemic, the President will not tolerate corruption in an agency trusted by all to provide medical assistance to Filipinos,” Roque also said.

In his July 23 letter to Morales, which was provided by an Inquirer source and which Roque confirmed to have seen as well, Keith said his resignation takes effect on Aug.31. Among the reasons he cited were his belief of “widespread corruption in PhilHealth” and his opposition to the mandatory payment of PhilHealth contribution by overseas Filipino workers that he said was “unconstitutional” and against the Universal Health Law.

“It is against my personal values to let the OFWs pay for the spillages of Philhealth,” Keith said.

He also said there was a need for an independent agency to look into “the rampant and patent unfairness” in the agency’s promotion process.

DILG bans mass gatherings ahead of Duterte’s SONA

Ahead of the President’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has released a memorandum reiterating that mass gatherings are prohibited.

With this, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Major Gen. Debold Sinas said his office will hold a dialogue with militant and progressive groups on changes for protests during the fifth SONA.

“On our initial dialogue, we have agreed to that pero kakausapin pa kasi namin sila (protest groups) kasi a new directive is being issued kahapon lang ito. Issued from chief executive galing sa DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” Sinas said in a press conference at Quezon City on Friday when asked if protesters will be allowed to hold physical rallies in the streets.

(On our initial dialogue, we have agreed to that but we will still talk to them because of a new directive issued yesterday. This is from chief executive from DILG.)

“It is a directive subject for strict compliance of IATF (Inter Agency Task Force) Resolution No. 57, reiterating prohibition on mass gathering dated July 23, 2020,” he added.

Specifically, the DILG memorandum states that “IATF strongly reiterates that mass gatherings, such as but not limited to movie screenings, sporting events, and other entertainment activities, community assemblies and non-essential work gatherings are prohibited.”

INQUIRER.net has sought clarifications from DILG on the recently issued memorandum for protests during the fifth SONA but has yet to reply as of posting.

Earlier, PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the police force will field 5,000 law enforcers to secure SONA and assist the protesters in following minimum health protocols during rallies.

Pres. Duterte given authority over budget to curb COVID-19

The Philippine Congress has passed legislation that would give President Rodrigo Duterte the authority to realign the national budget and control over medical facilities as the country continues efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The legislators approved the bill called, “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act”, early Tuesday morning.

Only several members of the House of Representatives showed up, while 12 senators were present as the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine is in place, GMA News reported.

The provision on emergency powers was scrapped.

The bill gives the President the power to temporarily direct the operations of “privately-owned hospitals, medical and health facilities including passenger vessels and other establishments,” and converts these as temporary housing for health workers, as quarantine areas, or aid distribution locations.

In the provision for public transportation facilities, these may be used to ferry health, emergency, and frontline personnel.

The President may take over these facilities, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, if the said establishments “unjustifiably refuse or signify that they are no longer capable of operating their enterprises” for COVID-19 response.

Under the same measure, the President may “allocate cash, funds, investments, including underutilized or unreleased subsidies and transfers, held by any government-owned and controlled corporation or any national government agency… necessary in order to address the COVID-19 emergency.”

Emergency subsidies may also be released for the 18 million low-income Filipino families in the country who may starve while the enhanced community quarantine is being implemented.

Senator Pia Cayetano, the author of the bill, said each low-income household is projected to receive around P5,000 to P8,000 per month for two months from various national government and local government programs, “whether in cash or kind, but mostly food.”