Warrant of arrest vs employer

Ian Alfredo Magno

Consistently, Philhealth Regional Office-10 under the stewardship of regional vice president and concurrent area vice president for Mindanao (Area IV), Datu Masiding M. Alonto Jr., has been steadily conducting its information campaign with employers to educate the latter vis-à-vis their statutory obligation under Republic Act 7875 as amended by RA 9241 and RA 10606 otherwise known as the National Health Insurance Act of 2013.

The effort is in pursuance of Philhealth’s basically two-pronged mandate – enrollment and enforcement.

Among the categories of Philhealth’s stratified membership market is the employed sector.  In a largely literate country where a great majority of its graduates have seemingly been evangelized to rather land in a job (than create jobs via entrepreneurial undertakings), employers play a crucial role in bringing in their employees under the umbrella of PhilHealth.  Hence, Section 15 under Rule III of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 7875 as amended by RA 9241 and 10606 lays down the specific obligations of a particular employer regardless of size, thus:

“SECTION 15. Obligations of the Employer

All government and private employers are required to:

1. Register their employees and their qualified dependents by submitting a list of their employees complete with their salary base and other documents as may be required.
2. Report to the Corporation its newly-hired employees within 30 calendar days from assumption to office.
3. Give notice to the Corporation of an employee’s separation within 30 calendar days from separation.
4. Keep true and accurate work records for such period and containing such information as the Corporation may prescribe.
5. Allow the inspection of its premises including its books and other pertinent records.”

During the first half of this year, PRO-10 doubled its efforts to implement just that. Basically, apart from the usual information campaign with employers, a parallel task of legally pursuing erring, dodgy and notoriously evasive employers before the regular courts had been intensified.

Just recently, as a matter of fact, Judge Abouben Jade R. Pabellan-Bacal of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 6 of the 10th Judicial Region, Cagayan de Oro City, caused the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the proprietor of a certain manpower agency situated in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, for refusing to remit Philhealth premiums due, despite repeated demands, and thereby deliberately, illegally, and willfully failed to perform her statutory obligation under Section 18, Rule III of the RIIR of R.A. 7875, as amended by RA 9241 and RA 10606.

The complaint was lodged by Mr. Khalid M. Asum (PRO-10 Collection Section Chief) before the Office of the City Prosecutor, in coordination with Assistant City Prosecutor Jeanne Marie A. Sabio.

Indeed, this is a welcome development not only for Philhealth in particular, but also for all the working men and women, in general, whose social health protection PhilHealth is mandated sustain.

(Ian Alfredo T. Magno is a lawyer based in Cagayan de Oro. E-mail: ianalfredom@gmail.com)