Wednesday, October 03, 2007 Delilan: PhilHealth 'scam' By Erwin Ambo Delilan The Buzz
I can't imagine a cataract operation nowadays being dubbed as a high profile "racket" of some doctors having patients who are members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
I heard this report two months ago and I just ignored it because this report started in Manila with PhilHealth central office there exposing the alleged anomaly of cataract operation.
Now, I am very interested in the issue because of the 10 doctors in Western Visayas being linked to the scam, three are from Bacolod City, namely doctors Nonito Avecilla, Leopoldo Cuaycong and Miguel Sarabia.
Their names, including the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital in Eroreco, Mandalagan Bacolod, had already been mentioned in the report of PhilHealth Region 6 as among those being questioned for millions of pesos in Philhealth claims.
Of the three doctors, I know Dr. Sarabia who was once our partner in our medical missions when I was still a radio personality at Radio Mindanao Network (RMN)-dyHB Radyo Agong in Bacolod.
Of course, I won't believe yet that Dr. Sarabia, a US-trained Opthalmologist, could do the alleged racket at the expense of his poor patients mostly from remote villages in Negros who suffer eye illnesses.
Dr. Sarabia is a soft-spoken guy and a decent one.
Seeing and talking with him in person, you can't imagine he will indulge in any "hanky-panky" that would demean his profession and his well-respected family.
The Sarabias are known to be pioneers in eye care in the country.
The word Sarabia is almost synonymous with eye care anywhere you go in the country and abroad.
That's why until this writing, I can't still believe that Dr. Sarabia would be one of the "culprits" in this alleged PhilHealth anomaly.
I think he should give an acceptable and believable explanation soon to clear his name and reputation as well as his profession.
