Duterte: Payment of OFW’s PhilHealth premiums ‘voluntary’

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered PhilHealth to make the payment of premiums of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to be voluntary, Malacañang said Monday.

“Una sa lahat, ipinapaalam po namin sa inyo na nagissue ng direktiba ang Presidente sa PhilHealth para gawing boluntaryo po ang pagbabayad ng mga OFWs ng PhilHealth premiums,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online press briefing.

(First of all, we are informing the public that the President has issued a directive to PhilHealth to make OFWs’ payment of premiums to be voluntary.)

Roque added that the provision in the implementing rules and regulations of the Universal Health Care law mandating higher premium payments for OFWs has been suspended by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III.

“Alinsunod po dito, inanuunsyo na po ni Secretary Duque ng Department of Health na sinususpinde po niya ang Item 10 2 (c) ng implementing rules and regulations ng universal health care na nag papataw na mas mataas na kontributsyon habang tayo po ay may problema sa COVID-19,” he added.

(Accordingly, Secretary Duque has announced the suspension of Item 10 2 (c) of the implementing rules and regulations of the universal health care that imposes a higher contribution rate while we are still dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.)

Furthermore, Roque said payment of PhilHealth premiums is no longer a pre-requisite to receive necessary documents, like the overseas employment certificate, to leave the country as announced by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

“Inanunsyo na rin po ng POEA at OWWA na hindi na po ire-require ang pagbayad ng PhilHealth premiums ng mga OFW para sila po ay ma-issue-han ng mga kinakailangang papeles, yung tinatawag na OEC, para makalabas ng bansa,” he said.

(POEA and OWWA announced that they will no longer require OFWs to pay PhilHealth premiums to be issued with necessary documents like OEC to leave the country.)

Roque also reiterated that the Universal Health Care law does not mandate PhilHealth to impose the increase in premium contributions on OFWs. He stressed that it was included in the implementing rules and regulations crafted by the state health insurer.

Earlier, nearly 300,000 OFWs signed a petition protesting PhilHealth’s premium rate hike, saying that their jobs were affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

This was after PhilHealth issued a circular increasing the premium contribution of OFWs whose monthly income are between P10,000 to P60,000 to 3 percent from a previous rate of 2.75 percent.

Meanwhile, PhilHealth said it has suspended all collections as Filipinos abroad opposed the premium rate increase.