MALACAÑANG on Sunday, August 16, 2020, said six regional executive officers of the state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) have gone on leave.
They are not, however, part of the alleged mafia behind the anomalous transactions at the government-owned corporation.
Rather, they are the "heroes" as referred to by PhilHealth board member Alejandro Cabading during his Senate testimony.
"They chose to go on leave and heeded the call of Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra for those whose names are mentioned in the investigation to go on leave," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement Sunday.
"We consider this as the right and proper thing to do," he added.
He called on the members of the Executive Committee (ExeCom) who have been named in the investigations of both Senate and House of Representatives to heed the DOJ chief's call and file for a leave of absence.
Earlier, retired general Ricardo Morales, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer, and Arnel de Jesus, senior vice president and chief operating officer, also went on leave, citing their poor health.
Morales is undergoing chemotherapy while De Jesus merely said that he will make himself available for the Senate inquiry "when his health permits".
Both chambers of Congress launched investigations into alleged anomalous PhilHealth transactions that supposedly put some P15 billion into the pockets of corrupt employees. Morales has denied the accusation.
President Rodrigo Duterte has also directed the DOJ to form a task force that will look into the alleged anomalies and conduct a lifestyle check on PhilHealth's executive officers. (Marites Villamor-Ilano/VoxPop Philippines)