The embattled Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Monday, October 26, failed to settle its debt to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), amounting to P1.1 billion ($22.7 million) already, PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon said.

In a media interview on Monday afternoon, Gordon said the state health insurer failed to pay its debt despite promises. “They keep saying, we will pay, we will pay all throughout,” he added.

Gordon said the PRC supposedly has a scheduled flight to China on Tuesday, October 27, to procure COVID-19 test kits and testing equipment, but said they had to cancel since no payment had been made.

PhilHealth said on October 23, that it will pay Red Cross on Monday, October 26, following the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) legal opinion that the agreement between the state health insurer and the PRC is not subject to the procurement law.

On October 15, PRC stopped conducting free coronavirus tests for overseas Filipino workers, medical frontliners, and other Filipinos after the state health insurer incurred a P930-million ($19.14-million) debt to the PRC.

The Red Cross called off these tests because of PhilHealth’s “inability to settle its ever-increasing outstanding balance.”

Gordon said that even if President Rodrigo Duterte appeals to them to resume testing, they cannot do anything since PRC doesn’t have money anymore to replenish COVID-19 testing kits.

“I want to solve this problem not because we are Red Cross, but it [COVID-19] endangers our family,” Gordon added.

Citing a legal opinion from the DOJ, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday that the PhilHealth must “provide partial payment” to PRC as Malacañang called on the organization to resume its testing services.

But Gordon maintained that PhilHealth must pay in full.

Under the Universal Health Care Law, PhilHealth is designated as the “national purchaser” of health goods and services, which cover COVID-19 testing and treatment of all Filipinos.

PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran earlier explained the reason why there were delays in reimbursements was because they found questionable items in the agency’s existing agreement with the PRC.

A Rappler investigative story published on September 15 revealed that the PhilHealth and the PRC entered into a contract deemed disadvantageous to the government, following the advance payment of P100 million ($2.05 million) for PRC’s COVID-19 tests. (READ: Did Gordon’s P100M Red Cross deal with PhilHealth violate laws?)

The PRC’s testing services make up a significant portion of the Philippine’s current testing capacity. The health department admitted on October 21, that the PhilHealth-PRC issue is affecting the country’s COVID-19 testing operations. – Rappler.com