The president and CEO of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation said he has “relayed his intentions” to take a medical leave, after it was revealed that he has been undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma or cancer of the lymph nodes.
“I have already relayed to my bosses my intentions, and it’s up to them to decide. My fate is in their hands. Medical leave. But they still haven’t decided, so I’m still awaiting,” Morales said in an interview with The Source.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III stressed that Morales’s leave won’t hamper ongoing investigation on the numerous controversies surrounding PhilHealth.
“It won’t stop our inquiry and other witnesses and testimonies from coming out. It won’t also stop the filing of charges against erring officials of Philhealth if warranted,” Sotto said in a message to reporters.
PhilHealth’s resigned anti-legal fraud officer Thorrsson Montes Keith claimed that some senior executives have pocketed some ₱15 billion from the agency using different fraudulent schemes— an allegation Morales has denies.
Aside from the Senate, the House of Representatives has also launched its own probe on the controversies surrounding PhilHealth.
A multi-agency task force headed by the Justice Department has also been formed to investigate personnel from the state-run health insurance agency, with the team’s findings and proposed legal actions expected to be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte within a month.
