COA to PhilHealth: Return P247M in illegal allowances, benefits

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COA to PhilHealth: Return P247M in illegal allowances, benefits
(UPDATED) The notices of disallowance cover incentives given out from 2007 to 2009

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Commission on Audit (COA) ordered Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) employees and officials to return unlawful allowances and benefits received from 2007 to 2009 amounting to P247.88 million ($4.9 million).

State auditors, in two separate decisions issued in December 2016 and released to media in February 2017, denied the petitions for review filed by former PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Dr Eduardo Banzon seeking to recall the notices of disallowance (NDs) issued in 2009 and 2010. 

The NDs covered shuttle services allowances, “efficiency cash gifts,” and collective negotiation agreement (CNA) incentives.

The NDs in 2009 were issued against unauthorized benefits and allowances worth P204,072,574.37 ($4.01 million) in 2007 and 2008. The 2010 NDs, meanwhile, covered cash incentives amounting to P43,810,985.26 ($874,261) released in 2008 and 2009. 

However, according to PhilHealth officials, they are not covered by Republic Act (RA) No. 6758 or the Salary Standardization Law as the Congress “gave the Board of Directors (BoD) of PHIC the authority to determine and fix their own compensation.”

The agency added that it has autonomy to grant benefits without getting approval from the Office of the President. 

COA, however, emphasized that PhilHealth’s claim of exemption from RA No. 6758 was “misplaced.”

“While Congress provided exceptions from RA No. 6758… petitioner is still duty bound to observe guidelines and policies,” the commission said. “The power of the Board in fixing the compensation of the employees is not absolute.”

In a statement, PhilHealth said it will “appeal the matter to the Higher Court for its interpretation of applicable laws in consideration of our position that our corporate charter authorizes us to fix our compensation scale vis-a-vis our mandate of ensuring that all Filipinos are provided with social health insurance coverage.” 

PhilHealth added, “As a preventive measure, our Board of Directors has been reviewing all allowances in our corporate budget and has already required their approval for the same.” PhilHealth will also coordinte with the Governance Commission on GOCCs (GCG) as well as any other related agencies to ensure compliance with the laws.

PhilHealth went on to say, “The Board takes this matter seriously and sees the need to promote integrity, good governance standards, and strict controls in PhilHealth so that we can better serve our stakeholders, especially the marginalized and the poor. – Rappler.com 

$1 = P50.11

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