BY BETHEENA UNITE
Nine out of 10 Filipinos are convinced that a widespread corruption exists in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), an online survey bared.
Also seven out of 10 Filipinos also want PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales to resign.
During the five-day period of the survey conducted by the WR Numero Research, a technology-driven polling and data analytics company, a total of 12,581 respondents expressed their opinion over the alleged large-scale corruption at the government health service agency.
The survey showed that 86 percent of the total respondents agreed that there is a widespread corruption in Philhealth while only three percent of them disagreed and 11 percent are unsure.
It also revealed that 66 percent agreed that Morales should step down with only 9 percent wanted him to keep his position. 25 percent of the respondents are unsure.
It was also noted that on August 6, when the online poll started, almost a third or 27 percent of the respondents criticized Morales and other PhilHealth officials involved in the scandal.
Sixteen percent demanded to include graft and corruption as heinous crime punishable by death penalty while 15 percent demanded imprisonement for the involved officials.
Ten percent of the respondents also expressed anger and frustration over government corruption.
However, as the survey reached its end on August 11, more than half of the respondents already criticized both the PhilHealth and involved officials, and President Duterte.
The poll showed that 28 percent criticized PhilHealth and 28 percent also criticized Duterte. Thirteen percent condemned Morales.
Eight percent of the respondents demanded death penalty for involved officials while 14 percent expressed anger and frustration over government corruption.
According to the data, the respondents are from Northern and Central Luzon (20 percent), National Capital Region (22 percent), South Luzon and Bicol (22 percent), Visayas (18 percent), and Mindanao (18 percent).
Respondents age range from 18 to 50 years old. Fifty-one percent are female and 49 percent are male.
The non-commissioned survey utilized a non-probability sampling, specifically convenience sampling of users willing to participate. The data was generated through survey questions on a mobile application that users from the WR Numero Research data partner’s online community answer.
The large-scale corruption in the health agency was revealed when its former anti-fraud legal officer Thorrsson Montes Keith claimed that some P15 billion were stolen by PhilHealth officials through various schemes operated by a “mafia syndicate” allegedly run by high-ranking individuals in the government.
Since then, a series of Senate and Congress hearings has been held. (Betheena Unite)
