The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) said it was willing to resume its free COVID-19 testing with costs shouldered by the Philippine Heath Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) provided the embattled government agency pays the debt it owed them.

PRC Corporate Secretary Rodolfo Reyes in an ANC interview on Friday, October 16, said: “Our hearts are not hardened.” However, he added that PhilHealth’s close to a billion pesos due PRC was severely affecting their operations.

“We’re open to settlement. We’re open to talks. We have not taken any hard line positions, except: please, pay us. We hope it’s P930 [million]. We’re going to press for that, of course, because that’s long overdue,” Reyes said.

When asked if PRC would be amenable if PhilHealth paid in in tranches, Reyes said: “We would like a substantial portion, if not all of the P930 million will be paid. They just have to resolve some of their internal issues on their own. I think they are taking care of that.”

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

The cost of the virus tests to specific individuals were shouldered by PhilHealth. Those entitled to the PhilHealth-funded tests were OFWs, individuals arriving in airports and seaports, and mostly public healthcare workers.

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

Under the Universal Health Care Law, PhilHealth was tasked with implementing the National Health Insurance Program, which covered COVID-19 testing and treatment of all Filipinos.

‘We will pay’

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN Philippines on Friday, PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran assured PRC that it would pay its debt.

“We will pay for that, regardless of whether the DBM [Department of Budget and Management] will assume a negative position on the matter… babayaran talaga ng PhilHealth ‘yan (PhilHealth will really pay for that],” Gierran said.

Gierran explained that the reason why there were delays in reimbursements was that they found questionable items in the agency’s existing agreement with PRC.

“We want to pay. Only that we have to clear some legal issues affecting the memorandum of agreement that was entered into earlier between the management of PhilHealth and the Philippine Red Cross,” he said.

A Rappler investigative story published on September 15 revealed that 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?)

While PRC helped the country ramp up its COVID-19 testing capacity, several laws, including state audit rules, clearly prohibited advance payments. The laws mandate reimbursement for the protection of public funds – meaning, the party had to incur costs and render services first before it would be paid.

(READ: Resigned PhilHealth officer willing to testify vs Gordon’s Red Cross deal)

In a 17-page reply to Rappler on September 8, PRC maintained that advance payments by PhilHealth are allowed and that the deal was not disadvantageous to government.

Lawmakers in August investigated PhilHealth for alleged corruption as whistleblowers accused executives of pocketing some P15 billion ($309.6 million) in funds.

Several top PhilHealth officials, including its former chief Ricardo Morales, are now facing administrative charges. – Rappler.com