The call for the Health Chief’s resignation has reverberated amid investigations being conducted on the controversies hounding the Philippine Health Corporation (Philhealth) where Secretary Francisco Duque has been accused as its “mafia” head.
However, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has stated that while an official is still in his position, the President still trusts him. He also emphasized that the task force created by President Rodrigo R. Duterte is focusing on the reported anomalies in PhilHealth.
In the Lower House of Congress, Marikina City Representative Stella Quimbo is pushing to transfer PhilHealth’s management to a private institution as a solution to its problems.
However, Sec. Roque has stated that giving the management to a private company, it is an “insurance po iyan. At makikita naman na iyong scheme ng insurance ay hindi gumagana lalong-lalo na sa lugar ng gaya ng Estados Unidos na talagang ang mga mahihirap ay hindi po kayang bayaran ang paggagamot dahil wala po silang mga insurance. So sa paningin ko po as the primary author of the Universal Healthcare Law, kabaliktaran po ang objective natin. Kaya po nilagay natin sa gobyerno iyan dahil katungkulan ng gobyerno iyan. (If it is given to a private company, it is insurance. We can see that the insurance scheme does not work in places like the United States where the poor cannot pay for their hospitalization without an insurance. So, I think as the primary author of the Universal Healthcare Law, our objective is the opposite. We have put it under the government because it is the duty of the government).”
Report from Mela Lesmoras
