It must have been one heck of a dream. 

Aklan 2nd District Representative Teodorico Haresco Jr surprised even his own colleagues during a House hearing on Tuesday, August 18, when he sought the issuance of hold departure orders (HDOs) against senior and regional officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

What gave him this idea? A rather bizarre dream about the iconic crime movie, The Godfather 3, with a Power Rangers crossover. 

Yes, you read that right.

Haresco said he dreamt that the so-called PhilHealth mafia – the officials accused of corruption in the latest scandal to hound the state health insurer – were gangsters. 

The good guys? The congressional lawmakers investigating PhilHealth, dressed as the Power Rangers.

“Mr Chairman, it appears in my dream na there was a capo di tutti i capi (crime boss) that lasted for so many decades, and he had 3 mafias – in the private sector and in [the] Civil Service Commission. And, because of that, Mr Chairman, sa panaginip ko, may mga whistleblower kaya dumating ang Power Rangers ng House (in my dream, there were whistleblowers so the Power Rangers of the House arrived),” said Haresco.

His background in the Zoom meeting was a video of the beach.

Haresco then moved for the committees on public accounts, as well as good government and public accountability to write to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to study the idea of issuing HDOs against all officials of PhilHealth. 

When public accounts panel chair Mike Defensor clarified if what Haresco wanted was for the DOJ to issue HDOs against regional PhilHealth officials up to the members of its executive committee, the Aklan congressman said yes. Deputy Speaker Dan Fernandez then seconded the motion.

But Senior Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla immediately interjected, advising the panel to “proceed with caution” since they have yet to establish solid evidence against all of these PhilHealth officials. Plus, cases have yet to be filed against the embattled officials. 

“Hindi yata, hindi appropriate (I think it’s not appropriate) and it just might unduly alarm people who, after all, may not be guilty of any offense. So let’s proceed with caution on this matter, Mr Chairman, until we have proof or until we have reason to believe that there really is fraud in the actions of the officers,” Remulla said.

“And let it not be a blanket order that we want to do, [but] only for those that we suspect [may have committed] fraud,” added the Cavite 7th District congressman.

Defensor then amended the motion so that the joint panels would just seek the guidance or the opinion of the DOJ on the possible issuance of HDOs against the PhilHealth officials. 

When the motion was adopted, veteran lawmaker Elpidio Barzaga Jr blurted the perfect ending to this rather hilarious saga in the lower chamber. 

“No objection, but just a comment: wala namang nagbibiyahe ngayon (no one is traveling now)!” quipped the Cavite 4th District congressman, referencing the travel ban imposed in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Keep on dreaming, Congressman Haresco. Maybe by the beach? – Rappler.com