No reason to praise PhilHealth

Emiliano Manahan Jr.’s letter, titled “Kudos to PhilHealth” (Opinion, 9/11/14), caught my attention because I have no reason to praise PhilHealth.

First of all, PhilHealth topped the 31 government agencies ordered by the Commission on

Audit to return to the national coffers all the bonuses and allowances amounting to P2.313 billion, whose payment in 2012 was deemed unauthorized. Of that amount, PhilHealth’s share was P1.651 billion (“Return bonuses, execs told,” Front Page, 1/15/14).

Secondly, upon my discharge from the hospital, I requested PhilHealth to pay me my share of the doctors’ fees. You know what PhilHealth told me? That I ask it from the doctors concerned. I retorted that since it was PhilHealth who paid the doctors, it should also be the one to collect the amount from the doctors and then to pay me my share. I even wrote PhilHealth’s CEO, (whose name I cannot now recall) if she could help me. The amount involved was about P10,000.

To date I am not aware whether PhilHealth has given back to the government the P1.651 billion unauthorized bonuses and allowances, as ordered by the COA.

—BERNARDO V. PERALTA,

retired accounting professor,

Cebu City