MANILA, Philippines — Two House committees on Tuesday approved the filing of administrative and criminal cases against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and officials of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for irregularities. During a hearing on Tuesday, members of the panels rejected a motion by Bulacan Rep. Jose Antonio Alvarado Sy, blue ribbon committee chair, to exclude members of the PhilHealth board from the charges. The truth of the matter is, Congress took away the voting right of the chairman so the chairman is a nonvoting member of the PhilHealth board,” he told the Inquirer. 11223, or the universal health-care law, where the health secretary chairs the PhilHealth board as an “ex-officio nonvoting” member. This was at the height of COVID-19, when we were expanding, ramping up our health system capacity,” Duque said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 27, 2020 20:48 UTC