A joint House committee hearing on Tuesday, August 25, revealed that Civil Service Commission Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa Bala ordered CSC commissioners not to disclose details of pending administrative cases against officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) – an accusation Bala denies.

Rappler looked into the ties between PhilHealth and the CSC amid an ongoing corruption controversy that has again rocked the state’s national health insurance program during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bala, as CSC chairperson, used to be an ex-officio member of the PhilHealth Board until the universal healthcare law revamped the board’s composition.

She was among those implicated in the complaint filed before the Ombudsman questioning the PhilHealth Board’s illegal installation of Celestina Ma. Jude Dela Serna as president. (READ: PhilHealth OIC spends P627k for travels amid P9-B net loss in 2017)

Bala, according to at least two insiders, is also close to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, her CSC predecessor who is now the PhilHealth chairperson.

In the same House hearing, Bala’s trusted staff, CSC Assistant Commissioner Ariel Ronquillo, defended her and said Bala gave no such gag order, contrary to the claim of CSC commissioner Aileen Lizada.

Bala deputized Ronquillo to represent her in the congressional hearing – something she usually does even in past PhilHealth board meetings.

Aside from Duque, Ronquillo, and Bala, here are a few other employees with links to both PhilHealth and CSC:

• Atty Ritchie Pareñas – Formerly a part of PhilHealth’s Fact Finding Investigation and Enforcement Department before she was appointed to the CSC a few years ago. She told Rappler she left PhilHealth due to its “unfair promotion practices,” which favor poorly qualified employees.
• Atty Angelito Grande – A longtime CSC officer before he moved to PhilHealth. He served as former Group Vice President but is now supposedly retired. Grande, however, is among the top officials suspended by the Ombudsman.
• Senior vice president for the legal sector Rodolfo del Rosario – Worked briefly at the CSC before he was recruited to join PhilHealth. Like Grande, Del Rosario was also suspended by the anti-graft court.

– Rappler.com