As the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) continues to face probes into corruption allegations, rank-and-file employees of the embattled agency suffer from low morale due to “sweeping statements” being hurled at them.

“Employees are demoralized. Despite that, we persevere…although siyempre kami ay nagpapaliwang sa mga pamilya namin, even sa ordinary members, who are thinking na lahat ng empleyado ng Philhealth ay korap (of course we explain this to our families, and even to ordinary members, who think that all employees in PhilHealth are corrupt),” said Fe Francisco, president of the PhilHealth Workers for Hope, Integrity, Transparency, and Empowerment (WHITE) in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, August 19. 

Francisco appealed to the government to set aside politics as they scrutinize the PhilHealth officials. “Nananawagan kami na (We call on the government to) set aside politics and really get to the bottom of all these so that those responsible will be held accountable,” she said.

According to Francisco, the rank-and-file employees are also on the receiving end of hate from the public over the corruption mess.

“Naririnig natin na nagagalit na ang mamamayan, at kami ang sumasalo ng galit ng mamamayan. Sa kanila, ang pera ay dugo at pawis. Kaming nasa front lines ang apektado (We hear the anger of the people, and we are on the receiving end. For them, money is a product of blood and sweat. We at the front lines are affected). We are really demoralized and hurt,“ Francisco said.

In a Senate inquiry on August 4, resigned anti-fraud officer Thorsson Montes Keith alleged that “syndicates” in PhilHealth ran fraudulent schemes through which some executives might have pocketed around P15 billion. (READ: PhilHealth execs misspent, stole P15 billion, says resigned anti-fraud official)

Appeal to Duterte: Designate ‘caretaker’

During Wednesday’s briefing, PhilHealth WHITE reiterated its appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to “designate a caretaker who is himself not under question” as the agency’s top officials are under probe.

“While we support to uncover the truth, we the rank-and-file must continue delivering PhilHealth’s services. But we need somebody at the helm to steer us during these uncertain times – both internally, in terms of operations; and externally, amid the scrutiny and prejudice of the public eye,” the group said.

PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales recently filed his leave of absence for medical reasons, as well as several other officials tagged in the alleged corruption scandal.

Senators had likewise urged the agency’s top executives to go on leave while investigations are ongoing. They also push for the suspension of these officials as another option.

After 3 marathon hearings, the Senate decided to conclude its probe and would recommend actions that other branches of government may take against persons they deem culpable for the anomalies uncovered during the probe. – Rappler.com