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Philhealth inquiry may catch more 'big fish.' Inquirer Newsletter October 6, 2020

DAY ONE Grade 2 pupil Danielle B. Santos checks her mobile phone in her own cozy corner of their home in Barangay Tejeros, Makati City, even as more than 24 million other students navigated online, modular or blended learning during Monday's school opening. NINO JESUS ORBETA

Business

Poor service a drag to PH digital push

The proposed tax on digital services will level the playing field between local and foreign suppliers at a time when the economy needed a revenue boost to recover from the COVID-19-induced recession, the World Bank said. —STORY BY Ben O. de Vera

Read more: https://business.inquirer.net/308884/poor-service-a-drag-to-ph-digital-push

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Du30’s approval, trust ratings jump to 91% amid pandemic

Malacañang on Monday welcomed President Duterte’s high trust and approval ratings in an opinion polling firm’s latest survey and used the findings to take a swipe at Vice President Leni Robredo’s “politicking” amid the new coronavirus pandemic. —STORY BY Julie M. Aurelio, INQ

World

California wildfires burn record 1.6M hectares

NAPA, California—Wildfires in California have burned more than 1.6 million hectares in 2020, over twice the previous record for any year and an area larger than Connecticut, the state’s fire agency reported on Sunday. —STORY BY REUTERS

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Philhealth inquiry may catch more 'big fish.'

By Marlon Ramos

efforts to exact accountability against those behind the alleged massive fraud that had put PhilHealth in the red.

The first complaint, he noted, centered on the allegedly irregular distribution of IRM funds, which the state-run insurance firm specifically allotted for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. The NBI said it found enough evidence to conclude that errant PhilHealth officials colluded in releasing P2.7 billion in IRM funds to 139 hospitals and health facilities, including maternity clinics and dialysis centers, in Metro Manila.

Lacson, who joined Senate President Vicente Sotto III in initiating the Senate hearing into the fraudulent transactions in PhilHealth, had earlier disclosed that many of these facilities did not have even a single COVID-19 case.

According to Guevarra, the task force would now focus on the alleged overpricing in PhilHealth’s botched P2.1-billion information technology project and issues involving its legal sector.

He said the body would likewise look into previous corruption allegations that were not properly investigated by PhilHealth and other investigative bodies.

“We are probing these areas more deeply so that we can gather sufficient evidence to back up a proper complaint with the Ombudsman,” Guevarra said.

“We will just prioritize the current and major issues before we go back to past incidents of corruption and fraud in PhilHealth that were not given proper attention,” he added. --WITH REPORTS FROM DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN AND TINA G. SANTOS INQ

Editorial

Unraveling case

Last Sept. 25, according to Boni Tacardon, the defense counsel of detained Sen. Leila de Lima, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) financial investigator Artemio Baculi Jr. testified under oath that the detained senator was not involved in any suspicious transactions that would link her to the illegal drug trade she has been accused of by the Duterte administration.

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net