"We have no choice but to be optimistic."
We share the understandable apprehension of millions of Filipinos over the presidential appointment of a former director of the National Bureau of Investigation to head the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) scorched by public scandal.
The misgiving follows the statement of Dante Gierran, a CPA-lawyer who has strong connection to Davao City, hometown of the appointing power, where he admitted he was a bit scared, given his lack of experience in public health, or health care paid for by the government.
Gierran, who served as NBI chief since his appointment in 2016, when Duterte became the country’s chief executive, and retired in February, replaced Ricardo Morales, also an appointee of President Rodrigo Duterte, who resigned last week as PhilHealth president and CEO due to his medical condition—he was undergoing treatment for lymphoma.
Gierran, who will have to be elected by the board of directors, has marching orders from Duterte to devote his best energy to fighting corruption in the next two years—the span left in his six-year term as President.
Under Section 14 of the Universal Healthcare Law, the PhilHealth board cannot recommend a president and CEO unless the appointee has “at least seven years of experience in the field of public health, management, finance, and health economics, or a combination of any of these (fields of) expertise.”
Morales’ resignation came in the midst of investigations by Congress over the alleged methodical corruption within the state health insurance corporation, not helped any by widespread allegations of the existence of a mafia inside the agency.
We posit that the appointment of a new chief in PhilHealth does not, and cannot, instantly solve the problem that has aroused the anger of millions of Filipinos, with the nauseating nonchalance of top-level officials of PhilHealth.
And Gierran’s public admission he had no experience in public health has jabbed people’s nerves, members who have been revolted by the public demeanor, the appearing sangfroid, of officials of PhilHealth who appear to have taken members to the cleaners.
That despite, we are hopeful that despite Gierran’s lack of experience in public health, Duterte’s signature on his appointment paper will be strong and bold enough to help him knock down the red-blooded mafioso within PhilHealth—from the national office down to the regional levels.
Like Sen. Imee Marcos has said, Gierran should also scrutinize the operations of regional offices, and the legal and money trails should be cleared as well at the regional level, where allegations of upcasting payment of fraudulent claims, wholesale fake membership and other stomach-churning schemes originate.
We, like millions of Filipinos hoping for the best in PhilHealth, share the optimism that Gierran will succeed in his truly terrifying task.