In the recent news about the Insurance Commission of the Philippines issuing a cease and desist order to health maintenance organization Caritas Health Shield being held accountable for fraud, Caritas Manila aims to inform the public that the Social Arm of the Catholic Church of the Philippines is not in any way connected to this medical insurance company to avoid confusion.
Caritas Manila has been receiving numerous complaints over a span of time through text messages, emails, and articles related to their services and products. In the evening of July 11, 2019, Caritas Manila’s LOGO and office site were mistakenly shown in the news bit regarding Caritas Health Shield by one of the major newscast shows while delivering the news report.
Caritas Manila wishes to inform the public that it has filed two cases with the Securities and Exchange Commission against Caritas Health Shield in claiming the use of the name “CARITAS” and won both cases. The first case, the SEC’s Office of the General Counsel acknowledged that Caritas Manila has the prior right over the name “Caritas” because it was incorporated on May 3, 1977, 18 years earlier than the incorporation of Caritas Health Shield Inc. on April 25, 1995. On the second case, Caritas Manila also claimed that Caritas Health Shield Inc. violated Section 18 of the Corporate Code arguing the use of the said name infringes its trade name. Furthermore, it emphasizes the misuse of the word “Caritas” for medical health services, damaging its public image of Caritas Manila as a non – profit charitable institution.
In the light of this predicament, Caritas Manila stresses that its services cater to the poor and the less fortunate through kind donations from patrons, institutions, and organizations. Any products and services by Caritas Manila is in no way related to or affiliated with the HMO products Caritas Health presents.
