KUSANG nagbitiw sa puwesto si Philippine Health Insurance System president at chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma.

Ayon kay Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. hindi nakayanan ni Ledesma ang mabigat na tungkulin at pulitika sa Philhealth.

Sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na nanibago at naguluhan si Ledesma sa transition mula sa pribadong pamumuhay patungo sa serbisyo publiko.

“Well, yes, he left his position already. Sabi niya that nahihirapan na rin yata siya sa ano, with all of the… Hindi siya sanay sa pulitika. Manny Ledesma is very much comes from the private sector. So, I think he found the transition to be jarring, shall we say,” pahayag ni Pangulong Marcos.

Matatandanag itinalaga ni Pangulong Marcos si Dr. Edwin Mercado bilang kapalit ni Ledesma.

Ayon kay Pangulong marcos, hindi matatawaran ang karanasan ni Mercado.

Si Mercado ay isang US-trained orthopedic surgeon at may 35 taong karanasan sa hospital management.

“And so, it was I, after noong nag-oathtaking kami, matagal kaming nag-usap. Sabi ko, baliktad, hindi ko nga siya ina-advise-san, he’s the expert. So, tinanong ko siya: “Ano sa palagay mo ang kailangan nating gawin?” And balik… We went… Pareho kami immediately napunta ‘yung usapan sa digitalization. Kasi maganda naman ang serbisyo ng PhilHealth ngunit ‘yung pag-process ng mga file, ng claim, ng pag-apply, et cetera, ay hindi – kinakamay pa rin. Kaya’t napakabagal, and that’s why that became a priority,” pahayag ni Pangulong Marcos.

“But of course, beyond that, he has many other ideas on how to – on how to make the services of PhilHealth more inclusive, expanded, and again, to giver better coverage sa – for different conditions as for those who have, those who will avail of the PhilHealth services and of their financial support,” dagdag ni Pangulong Marcos.