The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)’s Senior Vice President (SVP) for the legal sector Rodolfo del Rosario Jr confirmed to Rappler in a text message on Wednesday, August 26, that he has resigned from his position amid corruption allegations in the agency.

“As I cannot afford to be unemployed for the next 6 months, and understanding that the corporation would need an SVP legal at these trying times, I have tendered my irrevocable resignation effective August 24, 2020. This was a painful decision,” Del Rosario wrote on his Facebook post.

Del Rosario was among the 4 members of the so-called mafia in PhilHealth who ran fraudulent schemes through which some executives might have pocketed around P15 billion, as identified by PhilHealth board member Alejandro Cabading in a Senate probe. (READ: PhilHealth exec dares whistleblowers: Come out, back accusations with evidence)

In a House probe into the anomalies in PhilHealth on August 20, Del Rosario admitted that the disbursements for the controversial Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) from March to early June were illegally released. (READ: PhilHealth’s Del Rosario admits IRM releases from March to June ‘illegal‘)

Lawmakers also questioned Del Rosario’s qualification for his position in the agency. He came from the ranks since he joined PhilHealth in 1998, but he had only passed the Bar examinations and become a lawyer in 2016. (READ: Lawmakers question qualifications of PhilHealth officials amid corruption scandal)

Del Rosario was appointed as SVP for PhilHealth’s legal sector in April last year. He had no prior experience in law-related positions. However, he denied he was “incompetent” when Senior Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla asked him if he considered himself unqualified for the job. 

He was also among the 13 PhilHealth officials suspended by the Ombudsman. (READ: Ombudsman suspends Philhealth top execs amid ongoing probe) 

On Wednesday morning, PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales announced that he would also resign after President Rodrigo Duterte asked him to vacate his post due to his health condition. (READ: PhilHealth chief Morales set to resign Wednesday)

A whistleblower told Senate hearings that Morales is a “coddler or may have become the new leader of syndicate in PhilHealth,” which the PhilHealth chief denied. – Rappler.com