PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has tapped outgoing Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) chief Ricardo "Dick" Morales as the new head of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
Senator-elect Christopher Lawrence Go made the confirmation in a text message on Thursday, June 20.
Morales, a retired Army general, was appointed by Duterte as MWSS administrator just on May 27, but his term at the state-run water regulator is set to expire on June 30 this year, according to his appointment paper.
Morales's appointment at PhilHealth, came more than a week after Duterte directed PhilHealth acting chief Roy Ferrer and members of the board to file their courtesy resignation, following the "ghost" kidney dialysis treatments scandal.
Duterte had sought to overhaul the PhilHealth, after accredited health provider WellMed Dialysis and Laboratory Center in Novaliches, Quezon City has reportedly been filing "ghost" claims for dead patients since 2016.
On June 8, the President said it was "totally unacceptable" to him that the PhilHealth has incurred huge losses because of the fraudulent scheme. (Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines)