Bankrolling other services using PhilHealth funds unethical – Makabayan

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro (left) and Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas answer questions from the press during a press briefing on Thursday, July 4, 2024. Now the two Makabayan solons slam moves to use PhilHealth funds for other services.  (Gabriel P. Lalu/ INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — Makabayan lawmakers have vowed to block attempts to insert a provision in the 2025 national budget that would allow the transfers of idle funds of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to unprogrammed appropriations.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas raised this concern after the Department of Finance (DOF) said it would tap idle funds of GOCCs like the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to bankroll social services — movements that Makabayan said undermine public health and safety.

The lawmakers said they would raise the matter when Congress deliberates the proposed 2025 national budget in August.

“As we approach the budget season, we will rigorously scrutinize this unethical transfer of funds.  There are concerns that these diverted funds may be used for the coming elections. We will move to strike down this provision from the 2025 budget and ensure that PhilHealth funds are protected and used solely for their intended purpose,” Castro said on Thursday.

“We demand transparency and accountability in the use of these funds. In the upcoming hearings for the national budget, PhilHealth can expect scrutiny regarding this issue,” Brosas added.

Last Monday, the DOF said the “unused and idle funds of government corporations are being marshaled for projects in health, social services, and infrastructure that serve the public, finance growth, and cut poverty.”

The DOF assured the public that it would not affect the financial viability of GOCCs and their ability to deliver services, citing PhilHealth which the DOF said will still be left with “a P500-billion benefit chest, which can fund multiple-year claims.”

This move was supported by Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, who said that the DOF’s decision is good because additional assistance and services will be provided without extra cost to the government.

Co is head of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, which deliberates the government’s annual budget.

READ: House budget panel head agrees with DOF move to use idle funds in GOCCs

However, Castro and Brosas believe transferring funds from PhilHealth to unprogrammed appropriations goes against the Universal Healthcare Act.

“This immoral transfer of funds is a direct assault on the health rights of Filipinos, especially the most vulnerable sectors of our society. We demand that the Marcos administration immediately return these funds to PhilHealth, where they rightfully belong and should be used for the benefit of its members,” Castro said.

“The usage of this P89.9-billion unused funds of PhilHealth for unprogrammed funds of the government raises several questions.  It seems to have the same stench of a pork scam version 2.0, which is worse than the Maharlika [fund] scam that’s why we have to investigate this,” Brosas said in Filipino.

They also said the fund transfers may be used for electioneering.

“It’s clear that this maneuver has been in the works for a long time,” Brosas said, referring to the previous approval of a bill that sought to tap GOCC funds for unprogrammed items in the 2024 budget.

“The people’s health funds are clearly being siphoned off. This is a grave injustice to the Filipino people, especially the poor and marginalized who were forced to rely heavily on PhilHealth for their healthcare needs,” she added.

READ: House taps state firms’ funds for 2023 projects

Castro also said the shaving of PhilHealth’s funds is untimely because contributions have been increasing.

“It is unconscionable to burden our citizens with higher premiums while simultaneously diverting billions of pesos away from healthcare services,” she explained.

“This incident underscores the need for stricter oversight of our health insurance system. We cannot allow bureaucratic mismanagement or political maneuvering to compromise the health security of our people,” she added.