PhilHealth foils scam, asks NBI to dig deep

THE head of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. on Tuesday said the government had neutralized a syndicate that had been siphoning off as much as P100 million in premium payments.

“We’ve already called in the National Bureau of Investigation and the Anti-Money Laundering Council to complete the investigation toward filing the appropriate criminal charges against the culprits,” Philhealth president and chief executive Eduardo Banzon said.

He said the scam was exposed when Philhealth staff detected a discrepancy in premium collection data.

“A premium payment check was cashed at a private commercial bank. The payment never reached Philhealth. The money was not credited to Philhealth’s account but went elsewhere,” Banzon said.

Based on the findings of an investigation panel created on Dec. 7, it appeared that the syndicate might have been operating as early as 2009, Banzon said.

“Initial findings also indicate that over P100 million in premium payments were diverted,” he said.

The NBI was also looking into reports that a Land Bank of the Philippines cashier was killed because he refused to cooperate with the syndicate, Banzon said.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue uncovered a similar tax payments diversion scam by a syndicate years ago.

The syndicate’s members, including BIR staff and employees of private companies who colluded with the bank officers, are now facing trial.

“There are crooks everywhere. We are warning them,” Banzon said.

“We will spare no effort in running after them. They will be apprehended, and they will be put behind bars. We have zero tolerance for fraud, consistent with President Aquino’s ‘straight path’ policy.”

Banzon vowed to run after the offenders and ensure that the money meant for the insurance premiums of Philhealth members were properly remitted and credited in their favor.

“We’ve likewise reinforced security controls to protect the integrity of our database.” Christine F. Herrera, Macon Ramos-Araneta, Manila Standard Today