PHILHEALTH President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales might not face another Senate hearing while his Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Arnel de Jesus has formally requested Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III to excuse him in the next hearing scheduled on August 11.
Sotto confirmed that Morales’ staff had sent a copy of the official’s medical certificate to Senate Committee of the Whole secretariat few days before the hearing.
The medical certificate from Cardinal Santos Medical Center stated that Morales has been diagnosed with lymphoma, is currently undergoing chemotherapy and has been advised to complete six cycles of treatment.
“He (Morales) is advised to complete six cycles of treatment during which he will be immunocompromised and vulnerable to opportunistic infections. It is therefore in his best interest that I have advised him to take a leave of absence,” the medical certificate stated.
Meanwhile, de Jesus also sent a copy of his medical certificate to Sotto stating that he is still admitted at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center.
In his medical certificate signed by Dr. Joel Dela Rosa, de Jesus is scheduled for coronary angiogram, angioplasty and pulse generator replacement.
Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson believed that Philhealth’s officials failure to attend Tuesday’s hearing is their loss, not the Senate’s saying that they won’t be there to respond to new issues that the resource persons will raise against them as well as to new incriminating documents in our possession.
“Having said that, I wish PCEO Morales well in his fight against the big C. In all sincerity, I join his family in praying for his recovery. It is unfortunate that these new corruption issues have exploded at a time when his health condition is at its low point,” Lacson said.
