Tag: 2004 Elections

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The Outlier [Manila Standard]

From Lito Banayo’s column in the Manila Standard: Those who know the man enough also know that he would rather fight the good fight, regardless of the odds, a seeming Don Quixote jousting against the windmills of evil, fighting the unbeatable foe, regardless of public approbation or disapproval from peers—outlier if need be—just to be consistent with what upon his graduation from the Philippine Military Academy in the Class of 1971, he vowed: “What is right must be kept right; what is wrong must be set right.”

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What Filipinos Deserve: A Corruption-Free PhilHealth, a Competent DOH Secretary

In 2004, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III was PhilHealth president when it illegally diverted P500 million in OWWA Medicare funds to buy PhilHealth cards bearing ex-President and then presidential candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s picture with the acronym GMA (Greater Medical Access) and GMA Para sa Masa, Para sa Lahat. The cards were distributed to areas where they knew they would lose against the late Fernando Poe Jr.

After her 2004 “victory,” Mrs. Arroyo rewarded PhilHealth president Duque with an appointment as DOH Secretary.

Fast forward to 2020, where under new PCEO Ricardo Morales – and Duque as ex-officio chairman – PhilHealth tried to collect premiums from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), notwithstanding their classification as a special sector. This amid a flawed if not perverted implementation of its Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) for health care institutions handling COVID-19 cases, gross overpricing in its procurement of IT equipment, and the doctoring of its financial statements.

The President’s trust and confidence notwithstanding, Filipinos don’t deserve a state health insurance that is so corrupt, made possible by officials entrusted with mandatory monthly deductions from hard-earned salaries of ordinary employees.

As for Sec. Duque, he has stayed too long in the DOH and PhilHealth in different capacities. He admitted in a public hearing that he has given his best but it wasn’t good enough.

More than public interest, public health is imperiled with Sec. Duque at the helm of DOH. Notwithstanding the trust and confidence reposed on him by the appointing authority, Filipinos deserve a good, competent, honest and capable DOH Secretary.

*****

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PCSO Funds Also Funneled to ‘Run-Gloria-Run’ NGO

As early as 2003, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office had released funds to a non-government organization prodding then President Gloria Arroyo to run in the 2004 presidential election, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson disclosed Wednesday.  Continue reading “PCSO Funds Also Funneled to ‘Run-Gloria-Run’ NGO”

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Lacson: I was Victim of Injustice, Not Spoiler

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson maintained Sunday he was a victim of injustice and unfair treatment, and not a spoiler, in the opposition’s political fortunes in the 2004 presidential and national elections.  Continue reading “Lacson: I was Victim of Injustice, Not Spoiler”

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The Lighthouse that Brought Darkness

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:

Today, I rise on a matter of personal and collective privilege.

Two years ago, the country was caught in a political maelstrom brought about by revelations arising from the voice tapes taken of a man and a woman, the identities of whom have since been laid public.

Continue reading “The Lighthouse that Brought Darkness”