Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) chief Dante Gierran said on Tuesday, January 26, that the state health insurer has already liquidated 92% of P15 billion allegedly "stolen funds" that its former executives were accused of pocketing.

“Sa totoo lang po, hindi nawawala, andiyan lang, on record po. Ang utos po ng Senado at ng lower house ay sabi i-liquidate,” PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran said in an online briefing when asked about the status of the missing funds.

"Sa ngayon po ay 92% na ang liquidated. Kokonti na lang po sir. I will not allow that na 'yung pera ng Filipino ay mawala. Galing ako sa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) po. Hindi puwede mangyari 'yan," the official added.

Gierran also encouraged the public to help and not put PhilHealth in disgrace.

"Kayang-kaya natin ito. Ano lang, ‘wag tayong magpahiyaan ng PhilHealth, tulungan natin taga-PhilHealth."

According to Gierran, around 13 PhilHealth personnel have been suspended facing administrative charges over supposed anomalies including the previous PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales who was asked to resign from his position as due to his health condition.

Watch the briefing here:

The 8 percent that PhilHealth is yet to account for will be about P120 million.

PhilHealth was involved in a corruption scandal after its former anti-fraud officer Thorrsson Montes Keith claimed during Senate inquiry in August 2020 that all members of PhilHealth’s executive committee composed the “mafia,” which had been allegedly defrauding the corporation for around P15 billion in the past several years.

In 2020, PhilHealth's nearly P1 billion debt to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) temporarily forced the state health insurer to stop its screening for the coronavirus infections in the Philippines.