Sunday, October 25, 2020

Philhealth-Red Cross agreement mentioned. Inquirer Newsletter. October 26, 2020

TESTING THE WATERS Two residents wearing rubber boots on Sunday wade inside the flooded Holy Spirit Memorial Park in Masantol town, Pampanga province. Tropical storm ``Pepito'' spawned heavy rain that left parts of the cemetery flooded for days. NINO JESUS ORBETA

News

Senators seek De Lima’s release as case ‘crumbles’

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima’s allies in the Senate minority on Sunday called for her immediate release, saying the case against her was “crumbling” under the weight of flimsy evidence. —STORY BY DJ YAP

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Regions

DepEd sets up Error Watch

DAVAO CITY—The Department of Education (DepEd) has set up a monitoring program to look into complaints of errors in learning modules in Davao region after the agency’s attention was called by netizens. —STORY BY JUDY QUIROS INQ

Board Talk

Edsa Busway: Transformative

Busway advocate Eduardo H. Yap, was chairperson of the MAP traffic and transportation committee in 2015 when he presented his position paper on the traffic and transportation problems of Metro Manila on Aug. 26, 2015 calling for a holistic approach. —COLUMN BY Eduardo H. Yap

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Philhealth-Red Cross agreement mentioned

By Marlon Ramos

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and officials of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) may be indicted for graft and misuse of public funds for entering into a “highly irregular” agreement with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to conduct COVID-19 testing, according to two separate legal opinions of the state insurer’s own lawyers.

In a report presented to the state-run insurance firm’s board, PhilHealth legal counsel Alfredo Pineda II said the memorandum of agreement (MOA) that former PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales signed with the PRC on May 5 had no legal basis and provided preferential treatment to the humanitarian organization headed by Sen. Richard Gordon.

The nine-page executive briefer dated Oct. 13, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer on Sunday, echoed the contents of the Sept. 25 review issued by Rogelio Pocallan Jr., senior manager of PhilHealth’s internal legal department.

It said PhilHealth, which was established specifically to provide medical insurance coverage to Filipinos, was not mandated to pay for the cost of the COVID-19 tests and bankroll the PRC’s testing program.

“Considering the apparent flaws and even irregularity or potential illegality of the MOA, the possibility of rescinding the MOA should also be considered by top management and the legal sector … as discussed and suggested by … Pocallan,” Pineda said in his report, which was also submitted to Morales’ successor, Dante Gierran. —WITH REPORTS FROM DJ YAP AND NESTOR CORRALES INQ

Editorial

Speculative market play

The news that President Duterte has given the go-signal for the resumption of oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea has stoked intense investor interest in speculative stocks with a stake in drilling contracts frozen for years by the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China.

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