MANILA, Philippines – Supreme Court (SC) justices are expected to further scrutinize how the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is spending its money when the third round of oral arguments on the state insurer’s fund transfer is conducted on Tuesday, March 4.
According to former finance undersecretary Cielo Magno, one of the petitioners against the P89.9-billion fund transfer, the SC asked for more data on PhilHealth’s finances.
“Sa mga ni-request po na data ni [Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin] Caguioa, makikita natin siguro na hihimayin pa ‘yung kapasidad ng PhilHealth, kung paano nila dini-determine itong gastusin, paano nasisigurado ng PhilHealth na na-take into account or nabayaran on time ‘yung mga gastos na ‘to at ano nga ba ‘yung mga tinatakdang gastusin ng PhilHealth,” Magno told reporters ahead of the third oral arguments.
(Based on the documents requested by Justice Caguioa, we can probably expect that PhilHealth’s financials will be discussed further, like how they determine their budget, how they ensure that they take into account or settle payables on time, and what their specific expenses are.)
Petitioners noted that as the oral arguments continue, more issues are surfacing.
These include the realization that PhilHealth funds have been mismanaged and the government failed to plan what the transferred funds would be used for. The P89.9 billion was sourced from unused government subsidies, which were supposed to cover for indigent members, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
During previous sessions, it was revealed that the state insurer already remitted money to the national treasury despite pending claims of hospitals and doctors.
Some of PhilHealth’s programs have yet to be implemented, as the government believed it had a 10-year window to work on these programs.
“Sana po wala nang surprise appearance ang Commission on Audit bilang witness ng Department of Finance dahil naniniwala tayong ‘yung [COA], independent body po ‘yan,” Magno said.
(We hope the Commission on Audit would no longer make a surprise appearance as a witness of the Department of Finance because we believe COA is an independent body.)
During the second round of oral arguments, COA Commissioner Douglas Michael Mallillin had been presented to the Court by the respondents to explain how the fund transfer affected PhilHealth’s books. But he was later flagged by SC justices for “defending” the finance department and offering his own opinions on the case.
“Medyo disappointing ‘yung ginawa nitong ad interim commissioner last time kasi in-undermine niya mismo ‘yung COA reports, so I think that’s very problematic,” said Magno.
(What the ad interim commissioner did last time was disappointing because he himself undermined the COA reports, so I think that’s very problematic.) – Rappler.com