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Friday, March 29, 2024

Rody names former NBI chief Gierran new PhilHealth prexy

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Aghast at the "sorry state" of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), lawyer Dante Gierran—its new president and chief executive officer—said Monday night he would not back out of a mission to rid the state health insurer of corruption.

Rody names former NBI chief Gierran new PhilHealth prexy
New PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran joins members of the Inter-Agency Task Force during their usual Monday meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte. Gierran (second from right) is flanked by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and presidential spokesman Harry Roque. He replaces Ricardo Morales who, amid allegations of corruption hounding the state insurer, resigned last week due to his health condition.

That's the mandate Gierran, the former director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), received from President Rodrigo Duterte, who also ordered him to remove all of PhilHealth's regional vice presidents and reshuffle the officials in the scandal-hit agency's regional offices.

"Maghanap tayo ng makulong natin (Let's find someone to throw into prison)," Duterte told Gierran, as he introduced his fellow Davao native to the public through his televised meeting with members of the country's coronavirus task force.

Earlier, Gierran himself confirmed to Sunshine Media Network Inc. in a text message that Duterte appointed him to lead the government health firm and succeed former Army general Ricardo Morales, who cited health reasons in quitting amid a congressional probe on PhilHealth.

"Corruption is here and there (at PhilHealth). I did not apply for the position, it's a tough job. But just like a good soldier, I'm not one to back out of a mission, and this is a mission," said Gierran in response to the President asking him directly what he would do to corrupt officials of the agency.

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Senator Christopher Go, Duterte's longtime aide, earlier hinted that the President would appoint a “silent worker” who has zero tolerance against corrupt practices.

“He knows accounting. He has experience in investigating. We’re hoping he will exhibit his political will to clean the agency and hold responsible those who have committed violations,” said Go, without revealing Gierran's identity.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who has oversight over PhilHealth as the agency's board chairman, later confirmed Gierran's appointment during the COVID-19 task force meeting.

Gierran takes the reins of PhilHealth about six months after he stepped down from the NBI, and about a year after he led a team that investigated the state firm's "ghost dialysis" scandal in June 2019.

That probe uncovered fraudulent claims made by over 2,000 health providers that cost the government millions of pesos — even as PhilHealth is currently being grilled by Congress over losing billions of pesos to corruption in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Also a certified public accountant, Gierran was Duterte's first appointee to the NBI and served from 2016 until his retirement from the agency last February.

His appointment came just days after the PhilHealth board tabbed Arnel F. De Jesus, its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, as Officer-in-Charge  to temporarily replace Morales, who revealed he was being treated for cancer.

A Davao native like the President, Gierran rose from the ranks at the NBI and also served at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Before joining the government, he was a credit investigator for a bank and a part-time professor at a university, both in Davao City.

Gierran earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Mindanao's International Harvardian University, Davao City, in 1993. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Rizal Memorial Colleges in Davao in 1978, and holds some Masters in Business Administration units from the University of Southern Philippines.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee of the Whole's investigation report on alleged PhilHealth anomalies is already being routed among the senators for their signatures, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Monday.

Lacson, who presented several exposés during the panel's hearings this month, said he had read the findings and his signature could be considered affixed.

"Base doon sa nalalaman ko, marami nang nag-affix ng signature… Kailangan at least 13 ang nakapirma para maging valid na committee report," Lacson said in an online interview.

"Ako, I'm more than satisfied kasi magkakatulong naman kami lahat diyan noong binabalangkas 'yan.”

Lacson made his statement even as the Civil Service Commission's handling of cases involving PhilHealth officials apparently were showing a "delaying" pattern, Commissioner Aileen Lizada said on Monday.

During a briefing, Lizada said she noticed this pattern while reviewing the cases lodged with the commission for the period 2010-2020.

"May nakikita kasi akong pattern sa office namin dito. Mayroong cases na ang jurisdiction dapat ay region pero iniaakyat sa Central Office, or dapat nasa Central Office ang jurisdiction pero ibinababa sa region," Lizada said.

"As to why, it will prolong or delay the procedure. As to who is favoring it, that's a question to us."

Lacson refrained from baring the recommendations of the committee so as not to pre-empt Senate President Vicente Sotto's report on the Senate floor today. Sotto said the document was 87 pages long.

Lacson also expected that the PhilHealth officials involved in the alleged anomalies would be brought to justice as soon as possible.

"From where we sit now, maganda 'yung prospects kasi ngayon lang naman yung after so many investigations, ngayon lang nag-resign 'yung top officials… Si [PhilHealth senior vice president for legal sector lawyer Rodolfo] Del Rosario, for example, nobody naman told him to resign pero he tendered his irrevocable resignation," Lacson said.

PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales, battling lymphoma, had also resigned from his post.

Lacson said he could see that Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra was determined to get to the bottom of the alleged corruption in the state health insurer.

He said President Rodrigo Duterte also supported the PhilHealth cleansing effort.

Meanwhile, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report on PhilHealth irregularities that were investigated last year has yet to be routed, according to Lacson.

Earlier, Lacson said, he was inclined to sign only one report if the two panels' findings contradicted each other.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Richard Gordon, in a chairman's report, recommended the removal of all PhilHealth regional vice presidents whom he claimed had benefited from fraudulent claims.

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