THE House of Representatives yesterday released from a four-day detention a legal officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) who was cited in contempt last Thursday by a joint panel for standing by his legal opinion which was used by the agency to reverse a 2015 Court of Appeals ruling against an erring Cebu City hospital.
Lawyer Rogelio Pocallan Jr., PhilHealth Internal Legal Department senior manager, left the Batasan Pambansa shortly past 8 a.m., according to Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Michael Defensor, chair of the committee on public accounts.
The Defensor panel has been jointly investigating alleged massive corruption in the agency with the committee on good government and public accountability.
Pocallan was detained late Thursday after the joint panel carried the motion of Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. to cite him in contempt for “misleading lawyers and the public that an administrative agency like PhilHealth can change or modify the decision of the Court of Appeals which is final and executory.”
“The committee found his reply that PhilHealth may reverse an order of the Court of Appeals given its quasi-judicial function deceitful and dishonest. We hope that in the coming hearing and the future investigations that will be conducted, our resource persons will be truthful and forthright with their replies so as not to diminish the hard work of the individual members and the collective effort of the committees involved,” said Defensor.
Barzaga was referring to the case of Perpetual Succour Hospital Inc. in Cebu City, which was found guilty of extending the confinement period of a patient.
PhilHealth’s Prosecution Department decided to suspend the hospital for three months and with a fine of P10,000 which the Court of Appeals affirmed, dismissing Perpetual Succour’s appeal.
However, the PhilHealth board issued a resolution reversing the suspension and ordering the hospital to just pay a P100,000 fine, which prompted deputy speaker Rodante Marcoleta to find out who in the agency issued the legal opinion that PhilHealth can reverse CA decisions even if these are final and executory. It turned out to be Pocallan.
Pocallan said the legal opinion was originally issued for another case involving the Medina General Hospital case.
Lawmakers stressed that only the Supreme Court can reverse the CA’s decision if it finds merits to do so.
Barzaga then moved to cite Pocallan in contempt after he insisted that an agency like PhilHealth can reverse a CA ruling, citing a legal opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.
The joint panel will resume its hearing on the issues hounding PhilHealth tomorrow.
Lawmakers have been zeroing in on PhilHealth’s practice of paying hospitals more than the patients’ actual hospitals bills or the all case rates system.
Dr. Israel Francis Pargas, PhilHealth senior vice president for health finance policy sector, last week admitted to Barzaga that all excess funds that PhilHealth pays go to hospitals, a practice which has prompted Defensor to believe that there is a connivance between some PhilHealth officials and the hospitals in siphoning money off the state insurer.
PhilHealth officials have also been warned of charges of malversation or illegal use of public funds because they released funds through the agency’s interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM) to hospitals or health facilities that do not accept coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
