MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in Region 8 to settle its rental dues.
Based on the July 1, 2021 claim filed by Hugh Trevor Realty, the government agency owes its landlord P2.07 million.
“PhilHealth RO No. 8 cannot evade payment of its rents and unjustly enrich itself by using the petitioner’s property for free,” the state auditor noted.
PhilHealth’s regional office in Eastern Visayas has been occupying an office space in a building in Tacloban City owned by the claimant since 2018. The monthly rental rate remained unchanged over the years at P295,768.53.
In 2020, parties did not sign another contract since the PhilHealth regional office had planned to move to another location. But due to the pandemic, any plans to relocate had been canceled.
In response to the claim, PhilHealth confirmed that it continued to stay in the office space even without a contract.
The agency was amenable to settle, requesting the COA to allow it to release funds to cover its rental dues.
“Petitioner is entitled to a reasonable compensation based in the principle of quantum meruit since it is clear that PhilHealth RO No. 8 benefitted from utilizing the office space. Under the principle of quantum meruit, a contractor is allowed to recover the reasonable value of services rendered despite the lack of a written contract,” COA said.
The state auditor also noted that PhilHealth had also accounted for the rental payments, recording it as accrued payables in its documents. This means that the agency had already earmarked for the rental expense. – Rappler.com