1. Charges of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, usurpation of judicial functions, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, grave abuse of discretion, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service were filed against former acting president and chief executive officer Roy Ferrer; former Board of Directors members Ruperto Aleroza, Eddie Dorotan, Joan Cristine Reina Liban Lareza, Hildegardes Dineros and Anthony Leachon; current Board members Celestina Ma. Welcome to Rappler, a social news network where stories inspire community engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. Get the latest news from your inbox for free. Indonesia Cabinet minister arrested in graft investigation ... been sentenced to prison terms in corruption cases. The said provision classifies as a corrupt practice the act of "neglecting or refusing, after due demand or request, without sufficient justification, to act within a reasonable time on any matter pending before him for the purpose of obtaining, directly or indirectly, from any person interested in the matter some pecuniary or material benefit or advantage, or for the purpose of favoring his own interest or giving undue advantage in favor of or discriminating against any other interested party.". Roque expressed dismay over an allegedly flawed case that PhilHealth’s legal department filed against WellMed Dialysis Center. The Department of Health recorded 1,721 new cases of the Coronavirus disease 2019 on Monday, driving the total to... A total of 46 policemen tested positive for illegal drugs this year, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on... 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He sought the preventive suspension of the sitting Board members of PhilHealth; criminal prosecution of respondents for graft and usurpation of judicial functions; liability for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and grave abuse of discretion; and dismissal from the service, cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from public office of the respondents. MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to pursue a graft and corruption case against former Philippine … In June this year, the Department of Justice approved the filing of charges against WellMed owner Bryan Sy, and WellMed personnel Liezel Aileen de Leon and Edwin Roberto. Cagayan de Oro student Nikki De Moura won the Miss Teen Philippines pageant. High corruption levels severely restrict the efficiency of businesses operating in the Philippines. “For 2020, up to November, only a total 17 cases were reported,” he said in a statement today. The complaint was based on an unlawful “reversing and modifying” and “obstruction of the execution” of a Court of Appeals’ decision to suspend a hospital in Cebu that led to a loss of at least P90 million in benefit claims from PhilHealth. Roque, in the complaint, estimated that PhilHealth incurred an average of at least P90 million in unnecessarily paying PSHCI benefit claims over the three-month suspension. Philippines is the 113 least corrupt nation out of 180 countries, according to the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. The department said the three conspired to collect payments from PhilHealth for medical services for kidney patients who were already dead. Pathak - Panigrahi, the most touted graft case now, is just the tip of the iceberg. (I hope there will be no issue of 'kickvacc' in the dropping of the ball in the Pfizer vaccine procurement.). According to Roque, he filed the complaint, in his own capacity as a private citizen, as a PhilHealth member and as principal author of the Universal Health Care Act to seek criminal accountability of top officials, who according to him were the real mafia in PhilHealth. Corruption Rank in Philippines averaged 93.96 from 1995 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 141 in 2008 and a record low of 36 in 1995. Decline. Corruption is generally of two kinds. 3019) Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: Section 1. Oscar Dominguez Abundo in the graft case.. Based on the decision issued by Sandiganba-yan Sixth Division Presiding Justice Amparo Ca-botaje-Tang on December 4, 2020, it is stated that the prosecution failed to prove that Abundo favored the release of funds for General … Meanwhile, Xinhua the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday (Oct 27) reported 1,524 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, bringing the total number in … But while it is true that the Philippines is still in talks with Pfizer, the country has already "missed" the opportunity to acquire the vaccines at an earlier date, Lacson said. Earlier this year, the Senate called for the replacement of Duque as health chief over supposed "failure of leadership" in the handling of the COVID-19 crisis. He referred to statistics from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in which 48 cases in MBSP were reported in 2018 but dropped to 25 in 2019. Pangilinan says officials behind botched Pfizer vaccine deal may face graft cases, Kiko Pangilinan, Francisco Duque, Ping Lacson, COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer, graft, health, Lacson says Duque 'dropped the ball' in vaccine deal with Pfizer, Somebody ‘dropped the ball?’ Duque says negotiations with Pfizer still ongoing, Senate Committee of the Whole to look into Philippines' COVID-19 vaccination plan, Senators demand Health Secretary Duque's resignation over coronavirus crisis, Senate recommends filing of malversation, graft charges vs Duque, PhilHealth officials, /entertainment/12/21/20/natulala-ako-vice-ganda-says-of-tarlac-slay-as-own-trauma-over-fathers-1991-killing-resurfaces, /entertainment/12/21/20/watch-jane-de-leon-joins-ang-probinsyano-gets-welcome-message-from-coco-martin, /news/12/21/20/duterte-says-pandemic-disasters-show-need-for-unyielding-afp-modernization, /sports/12/21/20/sbp-vows-to-improve-on-bahrain-bubble-for-asia-cup-2021-qualifiers, /news/12/21/20/look-duterte-watches-viral-video-of-mom-son-killing-by-off-duty-cop. Transparency International's 2018 Corruption Perception Index ranks the country (together with Albania, Bahrain, Colombia, Tanzania, and Thailand) in the 99th place out of 180 countries.. Roque said he would be filing five more cases, including another similar charge involving the hospital Perpetual Help of Jesus, “fake receipts” of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to overseas Filipino workers and unremitted payments of two multinational corporations. I think the motive for filing a wrong complaint against WellMed was that PhilHealth did not want to have anything to do with whistleblowers… I think the dark forces in PhilHealth want to remove protection for the PhilHealth whistleblowers to discourage them to talk against WellMed,” Roque said. Former Palace Spokesman Harry Roque shows a copy of the complaint he filed against former and current top executives of Philhealth. Jude de la Serna and Roberto Salvador Jr.; Charade Mercado Grande; Board Corporate Secretary Jonathan Mangaoang; Officer in Charge Board Corporate Secretary Lora Mangasar; and the Perpetual Succour Hospital of Cebu Inc. (PSHCI). He added that the filing of charges was aimed at holding top executives responsible, not just small employees who were only following orders from their superiors. Favoritism and undue influence are widespread in the courts, leading to time-consuming and unfair dispute resolution, and to an uncertain business environment. This is better than the Philippines' 129th out of 178, ranking in 2011 with a 2.6 CPI, in Transparency International's list. May 4 – Janjep Carlos of Philippines was crowned Mr Gay World 2019, which was held in Cape Town, South Africa. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. On Jan. 10, 2019, however, the PhilHealth Board granted the motion of reconsideration, removing the penalty of suspension from Jan. 21, 2019 to April 20, 2019 and increased the penalty fine to a maximum amount of P100,000, with restitution of all benefits unnecessarily paid by Philhealth. PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ. “There is an urgent need to 2. 46 policemen test positive for illegal drugs, Vaccines effective against new virus strain- German health minister, 4 dead, P272-M ‘shabu’ seized in drug sting, Japan cabinet approves record budget, higher defense spending, Duterte OKs P10K incentive for state employees. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on... SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Monday said the government is looking for more sources of Covid-19 vaccines to ensure Filipinos of wider access... SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday said more loopholes have been uncovered in the implementation of cashless transactions in tollways, which Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade... 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