CRONYISM AND CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNNMENT

Corruption in the Philippines is not something novel as the coronavirus that is plaguing
the country and the world at large. It is rather an endemic, deep-seated, and deep-
rooted virus that has afflicted the country since time immemorial. It is a social menace
and a mammoth stumbling block to good governance that had penetrated not just the
government but even the private and non-government sectors as well as Philippine
society even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis in the country.

According to Jalea & Peralta (2020) from CN Philippines, the alleged corruption in the
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is an exemplification of “systemic
corruption” in present-day Philippines. PhilHealth has been wracked by fraud for many
years. Some of the alleged corruption in PhilHealth prevailed since the uncovering of
the massive fraudulent scheme of padded medical claims and treatments for ghost
patients for years by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Thus, a more heightened political will and stronger governance response on the part of
the Duterte administration are needed to curb the corruption problem in PhilHealth. In
response to the corruption controversies surrounding PhilHealth, significant efforts have
been put forward by various government institutions to get to the bottom of the alleged
corruption issues faced by the state-run health insurance company and to ensure that
the perpetrators of these corrupt practices will be held accountable. The irregularities in
PhilHealth should not be allowed to persist.

Reference:
CRONYISM AND CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNNMENT

Corruption in the Philippines is not something novel as the coronavirus that is plaguing
the country and the world at large. It is rather an endemic, deep-seated, and deep-
rooted virus that has afflicted the country since time immemorial. It is a social menace
and a mammoth stumbling block to good governance that had penetrated not just the
government but even the private and non-government sectors as well as Philippine
society even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis in the country.

According to Jalea & Peralta (2020) from CN Philippines, the alleged corruption in the
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is an exemplification of “systemic
corruption” in present-day Philippines. PhilHealth has been wracked by fraud for many
years. Some of the alleged corruption in PhilHealth prevailed since the uncovering of
the massive fraudulent scheme of padded medical claims and treatments for ghost
patients for years by the Commission on Audit (COA).
Thus, a more heightened political will and stronger governance response on the part of
the Duterte administration are needed to curb the corruption problem in PhilHealth. In
response to the corruption controversies surrounding PhilHealth, significant efforts have
been put forward by various government institutions to get to the bottom of the alleged
corruption issues faced by the state-run health insurance company and to ensure that
the perpetrators of these corrupt practices will be held accountable. The irregularities in
PhilHealth should not be allowed to persist.

Reference:
Jalea, G. & Peralta, J. (2020). Whistleblower claims ₱15 billion stolen by PhilHealth
execs in fraud schemes. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from:
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/8/4/PhilHealth-P15-billion-stolen-mafia-
execs.html