SC Asked by Philhealth to Reverse Decision on ₱83.06M Flagged by COA

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has requested the Supreme Court to reverse its ruling on the Commission on Audit (COA)’s notice of disallowances (NDs) which covered the ₱83.06 million that PhilHealth allocated for birthday gifts and education assistance allowances (EAAs) to its employees and officials back in 2014.

In the SC ruling released last December 9, 2022, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eli Dino D. Santos mentioned that the allocated allowances were legal.

“We maintain, however, that those allowances were given in good faith, above board, not extravagant and, most of all, well deserved by the hardworking officers and employees of the state-insurer,”  stated Santos.

Santos also mentioned that PhilHealth had already filed a motion for reconsideration last December 20, 2022. He added that PhilHealth had already halted the subject allowances after it was informed of the NDs issued by COA.

The benefits allocated for the employees were aligned with the prescribed under the Salary Standardization Law IV and the  Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) that issued the Compensation and Position Classification System (CPCS).

“We assure the public that PhilHealth is prudent in administering its funds, and ensure that meeting our financial obligations, especially the payment of benefit claims, is always our top priority,” mentioned Santos.

COA mentioned that although selected government agencies are exempted from the application of the Salary Standardization Law (SSL), Philhealth’s law under the Republic Act 7875 does not contain the same express exemption.

COA likewise adds that the power of PhilHealth to fix the compensation of their personnel did not expressly grant fiscal autonomy.

Source: Business Mirror