The Department of Health (DoH) on Friday welcomed the announced intention of Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to investigate the alleged mismanagement of the Medical Assistance for Indigents and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIP) program.

DoH spokesperson Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo told reporters in a Viber message that Health Secretary Ted Herbosa has publicly advocated for using DoH hospital Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) and payments from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) as better means to cover hospital expenses.

“Sec (Herbosa) even formally requested for a new line item, separate from (MAIP), to allow direct payments from DoH to (local government unit) hospitals without passing through politicians,” he added.

Domingo’s clarification followed remarks by Magalong, a former investigator for the Independent Commission on Infrastructure, who specifically flagged Herbosa for investigation over the alleged MAIP mismanagement.

Magalong, speaking in a radio interview, signaled that the Mayors for Good Governance (M4GG) group he leads is set to investigate the DoH over allegations that MAIP funds were misused and served political interests during the previous election.

“It’s not just ends at the Department of Public Works and Highways. There’s also DoH. They thought it wasn’t in our front sight. Ted Herbosa, you’re next,” Magalong said.

The mayor claimed that M4GG has received numerous complaints regarding the equitable distribution of MAIP funds.