MANILA, Philippines – The newly-appointed chief of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) said the state insurer has an accountability systems to hold its leaders accountable.
“Ako ay naka-attend ng iisa pa lamang na board meeting, but during that board meeting, nakita ko naman po ‘yung dedikasyon ng ating mga board members,” PhilHealth chief Edwin Mercado said in a press briefing on Thursday, March 6.
“Pero tuloy-tuloy po namin i-evaluate ‘yung performance po ng aming mga kawani, officers, tsaka board members. Kasama na po ako dun.”
(I have only been to one board meeting, but during that board meeting, I saw the dedication of our board members. But we will continue to evaluate our staff, officers, and board members. I am part of that.)
Like any other company, the state insurer’s employees also have their own performance evaluation metrics.
Mercado said his current goal is to make PhilHealth’s performance evaluation metrics “very objective” — which means that it will be based more on accountability and meritocracy.
The statement comes in response to Rappler’s question on whether the state insurer will comply with Associate Justice Antonio Kho Jr.’s suggestion that “it’s time to overhaul PhilHealth and change the board” after it failed to comply with the law.
Mercado is the second PhilHealth chief to serve under the Marcos administration. He was appointed to the president and chief executive officer on February 4, with the announcement coming just hours before the first day of Supreme Court oral arguments on PhilHealth’s controversial P89.9 billion fund transfer back to the National Treasury.
His predecessor, Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., stepped down amid issues with the state insurer’s finances — aside from the fund transfer, PhilHealth got zero subsidies from the government and had its 30th anniversary budget criticized by the public.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Ledesma was not used to being exposed to politics.
Mercado spent his first month in office with a spotlight on the state insurer’s finances and services as three days of Supreme Court oral arguments were held. (READ: PhilHealth payment claims, services questioned before the Supreme Court)
During the session on Tuesday, Kho also floated the idea that PhilHealth may also request the president to return the P60 billion that has been transferred to the National Treasury. (READ: Supreme Court issues TRO vs further transfer of PhilHealth funds)
However, Mercado said this may not be possible as the case is already being discussed in Court.
“Siguro po maghihintay muna kami dun sa final decision (Maybe we will wait for the final decision first),” said Mercado. – Rappler.com