Groups want SC to stop turnover of PhilHealth funds

Inquirer files

MANILA, Philippines — With the executive department seemingly unwilling to return P20 billion in unutilized subsidies remitted by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the national treasury, advocates and budget watchdogs will go to the Supreme Court for relief.

A broad alliance—composed of members of the academe, the professional medical community, and other stakeholders—is expected to challenge before the high tribunal the contentious provisions of the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), and the Department of Finance’s (DOF) Circular No. 003-2024 directing PhilHealth and other government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to remit to the national treasury unutilized subsidies to fund the government’s unprogrammed appropriations.

READ: Recto: Fund transfer from PhilHealth, GOCCs follows Congress’ order

In a press conference on Wednesday in Quezon City, former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno said they were just “finalizing” the petition, which could be filed as early as Friday.

READ: DOH: Excess PhilHealth funds partly went to health workers’ allowance

Against the law

Magno, a professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics, maintained that Special Provision 1(d) under Chapter XLIII on Unprogrammed Appropriations under the 2024 GAA and DOF circular were “rider” provisions, and thus, “illegal and unconstitutional.”

“A law should only have one subject. For the GAA, it should be about budget. But this provision under the 2024 GAA effectively amends other laws, particularly the charters that created these GOCCs, including that of PhilHealth’s,” she said.

Remitting PhilHealth’s unutilized subsidies back to the treasury was also in violation of Section 11 of Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act of 2019, which states that “the excess of the PhilHealth reserve fund shall be used to increase the program’s benefits and to decrease the amount of members’ contributions.”