Marianne R.

Castaneda
BSA 3-B

Philhealth Issues

Philhealth Officials Face P15 - Billion Fraud, Other Allegations: Funds Seen to Run
Out by 2022. A mafia involving the whole of Philippine Health Insurance Corp’s
executive committee has stolen some P15 Billion from the agency using different
fraudulent schemes, resigned Philhealth anti-fraud legal officer Thorrsson Montes
Keith alleged during a Senate investigation on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
At the same time, a Philhealth official said that the agency is projected to run out of
funds by 2022, with its 10 year actuarial life being cut drastically short by decreased
collections and increased payouts due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Nerissa Santiago said that the agency projected a net operating loss of P90 billion in
2020 and P147 Billion in 2021 should the pandemic persist. Senate Minority Leader
Franklin Drilon pointed out that during the first quarter of thid year- the COVID crisis
exploded only in March- the reported loss was just P2 billion.
The health crisis was compounded by the widespread corruption in PhilHealth cited
by Keith in his resignation letter dated July 23. He also cited his opposition to the
mandatory payment of contributions by overseas Filipino Workers, the alleged
unfairness in the promotion process, and the failure to receive his salary and hazard
pay on time since he started investigating the agency’s officer.