MANILA (UPDATE) - Retired army general Ricardo "Dick" Morales has been tapped to lead the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday.
Morales was earlier appointed as a member of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Board of Trustees by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The former military man replaces Dr. Roy Ferrer as head of the government health insurance agency.
Duterte earlier ordered Ferrer and other PhilHealth officials to resign so that the agency could have a "clean slate" after reportedly losing some P300 million to bogus insurance claims. They submitted their courtesy resignations on June 11, according to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
Morales' appointment came as PhilHealth faced controversy over alleged ghost claims by a dialysis clinic and as the agency girded for the implementation of the Universal Health Care law.