MANILA – Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president and CEO Dante Gierran has asked its senior executives to tender their courtesy resignations in light of the corruption allegations against the state health insurer.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a television interview that Gierran’s move was “the fastest way” to reorganize PhilHealth after President Rodrigo Duterte gave him an ultimatum.
“He knows that he does not have much time and that’s why I think it was important for him to request all the senior executives to file their courtesy resignation,” Roque said in an interview with CNN Philippines. “That’s the fastest way that he can reorganize.”
“We support this initiative of Atty. Gierran. We are confident that he will have very good information that will guide him on whose resignation to accept… I hope, too, that he will be guided by the Senate findings, as well as the findings of Task Force PhilHealth,” he added.
Gierran was given by President Duterte until December 2020 to cleanse the corruption-ridden PhilHealth. The President also gave instruction to “file all the cases that need to be filed” and “suspend and terminate” all erring PhilHealth officials within the deadline.
Last month, a Senate committee recommended the filing of criminal charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, chairman of the PhilHealth board, and several former and incumbent officials of the insurer over alleged anomalies.
Whistleblowers had told lawmakers that PhilHealth officials allegedly pocketed P15 billion in state funds and approved the request of overpriced projects and fund release to supposedly favored hospitals./PN
