Two lawmakers questioned the recent pronouncement of PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran that the controversial ₱15-billion ‘stolen’ funds were already “liquidated.”
Sen. Panfilo Lacson released a statement on Wednesday noting that “liquidated” funds do not mean that they were legally disbursed from the start.
“If public funds were spent not for Covid-19 as required under the IRM (interim reimbursement scheme), but for dialysis centers and infirmaries which are clearly not authorized, it can still be declared as liquidated, but it doesn’t mean that funds were legally disbursed,” he said.
On Tuesday, Gierran downplayed claims that the ₱15 billion was missing in the first place, and reported that about 92% of the money has been liquidated.
“Sa totoo lang po, hindi nawawala, nandyan lang. On record po, ang utos ng Senado tsaka ng lower House, sabi i-liquidate. Sa ngayon po, 92% na ang liquidated. Kakaunti na lang po,” he said.
He then said that the state insurer has enough money in its coffers continue operations despite the pandemic.
“Kung PhilHealth lang po, we have money. As a matter of fact, sige-sige naman po ang ating collections. May collections naman tayo,” he added.
In the lower chamber, Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate reminded authorities that this alleged liquidation “will not just erase the fact that [the fund] was anomalous in the first place.”
“The ₱15B involved in this case is even much bigger than the ₱10B Napoles pork barrel scam. A deeper investigation or audit must be conducted and those responsible be made accountable, especially since PhilHealth is again planning to hike the contribution of its members,” he said.
