Sen. JV Ejercito Sen. JV Ejercito wants a financial expert to head the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) within the next three months — stressing the institution can still be improved.

Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, cited the need to appoint a permanent PhilHealth chief to save the institution and to improve much-need government health service.

The senator pointed out that PhilHealth is in dire need of a financial expert to improve its financial standing for better services.

“That’s my recommendation to the President to already appoint a permanent head. Someone with financial expertise and actuarial capability,” Ejercito said during a broadcast interview yesterday.

“We need a financial expert to improve the financial standing. I don’t think we can afford a collapse of PhilHealth,” added Ejercito, citing the current state of Philhealth which was hit by heavy financial loss last year.

Ejercito stressed that a permanent PhilHealth chief should be onboard within the next two to three months.

The senator, however, remains optimistic that PhilHealth can be improved if the right people are tapped to lead.

“If we can plug up the hemorrhage that is happening, I think PhilHealth can still improve on its financials in the coming years,” explained Ejercito.

“But we have to act very fast,” he added.

PhilHealth is currently headed by Roy Ferrer in acting capacity after erstwhile interim president Celestina de la Serna was slapped with corruption allegation.

De la Serna is accused of anomalous travel expenses and allowances amounting to P923,000.

Her alleged extravagant spending happened as PhilHealth upped its net income loses in 2017 which are pegged at P8.92 billion, compared to 2016’s P251 million.

Apart from this, PhilHealth is also being dragged in the alleged diversion of P10 billion funds to the Department of Health. The fund was intended for senior citizens but was supposedly used in the construction of barangay health centers throughout the country.