MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has uncovered a syndicate inside the agency that has embezzled more than P100 million in premiums paid by members since 2009.
PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Eduardo Banzon said yesterday the syndicate
had recently ripped off a private company’s premium payments.
The anomaly, he said, was made known when PhilHealth staff performing heightened verification and reconciliation of remittances detected a discrepancy in premium collection data.
“We’ve already called in the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLAC) to complete the investigation toward filing the appropriate criminal charges against the culprits,” Banzon said.
He said the syndicate had encashed a premium payment check of the company at a private commercial bank.
“The payment never reached PhilHealth. The money was not credited to PhilHealth’s account, but went elsewhere,” he said.
The premium diversion scam was exposed by former Sen. Ernesto Maceda in his “Search for Truth” column in The STAR.
According to Gregorio Rulloda, PhilHealth vice president for Corporate Affairs, administrative charges also being readied against those involved in the syndicate.
Rulloda vowed that PhilHealth members victimized by the syndicate could still enjoy their benefits even if their premiums were not remitted to the agency.
“It’s not their fault. They can still avail of their benefits,” Rulloda said.
Years ago, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had uncovered a similar tax payment diversion scam wherein the syndicate members included BIR staff, employees of private companies and bank officers. They are now facing charges for money laundering, falsification and fraud.
Banzon warned PhilHealth officials and employees to avoid being involved in such irregularities.
“There are crooks everywhere. We are warning them. We will spare no effort in running after them. They will be apprehended, and they will be put behind bars. We have zero tolerance for fraud, consistent with President Aquino’s daang matuwid (righteous path) policy,” Banzon said.
He said PhilHealth will run after unscrupulous personnel “to ensure that money meant for the insurance premiums of its members are properly remitted and credited in their favor.”
“We’ve likewise reinforced security controls to protect the integrity of our database,” Banzon said.
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