THE Department of Health transferred P42 billion to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) to further hide its inefficiency in handling pandemic response funds, Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said yesterday.
Drilon issued the statement during the first hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on alleged deficiencies in management of DOH funds as observed by the Commission on Audit.
In the same hearing, Sen. Grace Poe said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should have been placed, at least, under preventive suspension for negligence in connection with P11.89 billion in unobligated allotment for hazard pay and special risk allowance for healthcare workers.
Poe said Duque should suffer the same fate as that of eight officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), of which Duque is board chairman, and four officials of the Department of Health, who were suspended by Ombudsman Samuel Martires last year for various offenses connected to the use of people’s money during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drilon, in his opening statement at the hearing, questioned the alleged exorbitantly priced face masks and face shields procured by the Department of Health through the PS-DBM as he raised red flags on the transfer of about P42 billion.
“Mr. Chairman, it appears to me that the DOH tried to mask its huge un-obligation rate and its inefficiency by transferring P42 billion to PS-DBM. In effect, this fund transfer minimized, on paper, the DOH’s underspending of COVID-19 funds. Mas malaki pa po ang hindi ginastos na pera ng DOH kung isasama natin yung hindi nagastos na pondo na ipinasa sa PS-DBM (There is a bigger unspent fund if we add up what it passed to the PS-DBM),” Drilon said.
He said Drilon said the P42 billion is “the biggest chunk of mismanaged P67 billion DOH COVID-19 funds” since based on the COA audit report these “were not supported with complete documentary requirements contrary to law and regulations, and cast doubts on the validity, regularity and propriety of transactions.”
He said that based on the COA report, more than P29 billion of the P42 billion had been spent to purchase personal protective equipment, medicines, ventilators, and test kits, among others
“These transfers raise red flags as these are unaccounted or unliquidated transfers. These are most susceptible to corruption as they easily become invisible,” he added.
Drilon also asked the DOH if part of the P42 billion was used by the PS-DBM to purchase face masks worth P27.22 each and face shields which he said costs P120 each. He also asked who ordered the DOH to transfer the P42 billion to the PS-DBM.
Budget Undersecretary Tina Rose Canda said the DOH transferred the funds so it can allow the PS-DBM to purchase big-ticket items needed in the fight against COVID-19.
“At the height of the pandemic, majority of the (DOH) employees are working from home, so they thought it more practical to transfer funds to the PS-DBM,” Canda said.
Health Assistant Secretary for administration and financial management team Maylene Beltran said during the hearing that the DOH has obligated about P7.8 billion for 825,877 healthcare workers (HCWs)’ benefits from Sept. 15 to Dec. 19, 2020, and about P7.1 billion for 379,117 HCWs from Dec. 19, 2020 to June 30 this year.
Beltran said the DOH actually has 517,356 HCWs in its list of recipients of hazard pay, special risk allowance and other benefits but the number of recipients went down after it was found out that not all of the 517,356 HCWs were actually exposed to COVID-19 patients.
Sen. Richard Gordon, committee chairman, said he would not take Beltran’s word and the DOH has to show proof that it actually paid the recipients, and not only obligated the money.
Beltran said the DOH will comply.
Gordon also said Duque should not accuse COA of “wrecking” his department, as the secretary claimed during a House hearing on Tuesday, or blame COA for making public its audit reports.
He said COA is just doing its job and the DOH had been given a chance to answer and correct the flaws observed in the department.
The Filipino Nurses United said a number of their members from the regions have not received their special risk allowances.
During the same hearing, Jocelyn Andamo, FNU secretary general, said HCWs from The Ace Medical Center in Cebu, Alcala Municipal Hospital in Cagayan Valley, Camiguin General Hospital, Chinese General Hospital, Cebu Provincial Hospital in Danao City, Dagupan Doctors Hospital, and the Divine Word Hospital have not received special risk allowances since September last year to present.
Andamo said that not all HCWs at the Delos Santos Medical Center received their special risk allowances, while only 304 out of the 1,300 HCWs in Metropolitan Medical received theirs.
