It’s the government’s job to provide universal health care coverage for Filipinos, Malacañang said on Thursday as it opposed the privatization of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“Kaya po iyan nasa ilalim ng gobyerno dahil ang pagbigay po ng kalusugan ay isang karapatan ng taumbayan at obligasyon ng estado. Kapag binigay po iyan sa private na mga kumpanya, insurance po iyan,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said.
Roque was referring to Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo’s proposal to privatize the embattled state insurer as it faces multiple probes over alleged corruption.
House Bill 7429 or the Social Health Insurance Crisis Act of 2020 aims to give President Rodrigo Duterte power to privatize any or all segments of PhilHealth, create and abolish offices and adjust salaries, among others.
“Sa paningin ko po… kabaliktaran po ang objective natin. Kaya po nilagay natin sa gobyerno iyan dahil katungkulan ng gobyerno iyan, dapat bigyan ng katuparan,” Roque said.
Amid corruption allegations hounding PhilHealth, Duterte formed a task force to pinpoint guilty officials.
“Kampante po ang Presidente na given the composition and the integrity of the individuals behind the task force, lahat po ng may sala ay hindi lang masu-suspend kung hindi ay madi-dismiss at makakasuhan ng kasong kriminal,” Roque said.
Duterte last year signed the Universal Health Care Law. It mandated the automatic enrollment of all Filipino citizens in the country’s insurance program and prescribed complementary health system reforms. John Ezekiel J. Hirro