PhilHealth and the Chamber of Secrets

While the country faces the threat of COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating effects of two strong typhoons, may the Filipinos not forget the 15 billion pesos stolen by few officials of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). May we not allow time and crises write off the crimes these thieves have committed. They did not just steal our taxes but also robbed us of access to a better quality of life. As taxpayers, Filipinos have every right to know where the money went. The law should not excuse them. Thus, let us not falter in demanding answers.

The billions of funds “lost” could have been spent for the healthcare of Filipinos instead of the agency's lavish IT equipment and overpriced COVID-19 test kits. The PhilHealth scandal has been the worst “money heist” in the contemporary times.

Let us turn the camera to the healthcare system of the Philippines, to the melancholic picture hanging on the walls of the government. Thousands of sick Filipinos die everyday without receiving enough medical services, without getting proper treatment while some PhilHealth officials bask in a tub of wealth. Hundreds of public hospitals struggle to accommodate patients every minute because they lack facilities, while the bank accounts of these officials bloat and struggle with the billions of money they have stealthily acquired.

May the ripples of Duterte's unmasking of culprits make these crocodiles emerge from the dirty water and see the long queues of poverty-stricken Filipinos hoping to avail cheap medical services. See people dying in hospital hallways and sick people lying in crowded rooms, like tunas waiting to get sealed in cans.

The fifteen billion pesos is for the healthcare of Filipinos. It is for the improvement of our lives because we deserve better quality of healthcare services. Needless to say, Filipinos demand to see PhilHealth's chamber of secrets, the controversial chamber where billions of pesos was hidden for years.

Graphics by Dannalie Degamo