PhilHealth reg'l exec suspended

By Florence F. Hibionada

The region's highest official in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) here began to serve her 90-day suspension without pay following the order of the Sandiganbayan.

The suspended official, Marilyn Geduspan was charged under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and for falsification of commercial documents in her capacity as PhilHealth Western Visayas chief/Assistant Vice President.

In a report, The News Today learned that Geduspan's woes stemmed from her involvement in one PhilHealth claim that had the check encashed to an alleged wrong beneficiary.

A case was then filed for violation of RA 3019 that dragged on for years with Geduspan and another co-accused, Dr. Evangeline Farahmand, Chairman of the Board of the Tiong Bi Medical Center posing objections on the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction.  Main contention was that because of Geduspan's Salary Grade of 26, the Sandiganbayan is the wrong venue. 

The Supreme Court in a recent decision said otherwise and ruled that it is the position and not the salary grade that determines the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.  Justices Arturo Panganiban, Angelina Sandoval-Guiterrez, Conchita Carpio- Morales and Cancio Garcia gave their concurrence in a jurisprudence set February of this year.

Geduspan was first ordered arrested by the Sandiganbayan back in 2003 yet got her provisional liberty following the posting of bail.  A total of P288,000 in bond was paid for the 12 counts of falsification raps pegged at P24,000 each count.  Another P30,000 bond was ordered for the anti-graft raps.

Her legal trouble began courtesy of the twelve PhilHealth checks for L.N Agustin Memorial Hospital.  Records show that Geduspan was blamed and tagged as the one supposed to be behind the alteration of the checks that had co-accused Farahmand as the other payee, “and/or Tiong Bi Medical Center.”

The Ombudsman found credence on the complaint.

“Records of the case show that as agreed in the Deed of the Conditional Sale by both parties, check payments by PHIC for hospital billings prior to Feb. 15, 2000 should be issued to L.N. Agustin Memorial Hospital, while the check payment for confinements after Feb. 15 should belong to Tiong Bi Medical Center.

According to the Ombudsman's findings, the aforementioned checks were payments by PHIC for confinement prior to the cut-off date of Feb. 15, but delivered to and encashed by Farahmand.

The Ombudsman said “it is apparent that Farahmand knowingly violated the stipulation in the Deed of Conditional Sale” and that the payment of the PHIC did not materialize if not for Geduspan's “indispensable cooperation.”

Taking over her post is lawyer Reynaldo Capangpangan who not only serves as PhilHealth chief in Region 6 but for Region 8 as well where he has since been assigned in the Tacloban field office. 

Sources said Geduspan learned of the suspension while in official travel to Manila late August.   Yet talks of her fate has since abound months back.  Employees were just informed of the new chief through an official inter-office memo.