MANILA, Philippines — Several groups and individuals filed a petition at the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday against the diversion of P89.9 billion Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) excess funds to unprogrammed appropriations in the national budget.
Petitioners were Senator Koko Pimentel, Ernesto Ofracio, Junice Lirza Melgar, Cielo Magno, Maria Dominga Cecilia Padilla, Dante Gatmaytan, Ibarra Gutierrez, Sentro ng Mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Inc., Public Services Labor Independent Confederation Foundation, Inc., and Philippine Medical Association.
READ: PhilHealth fund transfer: What to know
The respondents, on the other hand, are Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, the House of Representatives represented by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez; the Senate represented by Senate President Francis Escudero, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, and PhilHealth represented by its President Emmanuel Ledesma Jr.
The petitioners questioned Department of Finance (DOF) Circular No. 003-2024, which directs the transfer of unused subsidies from government-owned and controlled corporations, specifically PhilHealth, to the national treasury to support the government’s unprogrammed appropriations.
“Ngayon po ay ipa-file natin ang kaso questioning the constitutionality nitong DOF circular na kumukuha ng pondo ng PhilHealth at kekwestyunin din natin ang provision sa General Appropriations Act of 2024,” Magno, who is a former undersecretary at the DOF, told reporters moments before they formally submitted the petition.
(Today, we will file a case questioning the constitutionality of this DOF circular that takes funds from PhilHealth, and we will also question the provision in the General Appropriations Act of 2024.)
“Naniniwala po tayo na ang probisyon na ito ay unconstitutional at inconsistent sa mga batas na mayroon na tayo lalung-lalo na sa usapin ng universal health insurance,” she added.
(We believe this provision is unconstitutional and inconsistent with the existing laws, especially concerning the issue of universal health insurance.)
READ: Groups want SC to stop turnover of PhilHealth funds
Magno was referring to Special Provision 1(d) under Chapter XLIII on Unprogrammed Appropriations in the 2024 General Appropriations Act.
The petitioners asked the SC to undo and restrain the effects of the DOF Circular and the said provision in the 2024 GAA until the case is resolved.
Moreover, they also asked the High Court to issue a writ of prohibition to stop the DOF and other agencies from implementing the circular.
The petitioners also argued that instead of transferring the funds to the national treasury, they should be utilized to improve PhilHealth benefits instead.
During the post-Sona discussions last July 24, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa assured the public that the billions in excess funds from PhilHealth will still be used within the health sector.
READ: DOH: PhilHealth’s excess funds to benefit health-related programs
Herbosa mentioned that over P20 billion of the P89.9 billion in excess funds were already used to pay the health emergency allowances (HEA) of those who served at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Magno recognized the initiative but also said there should not be an interchange of government agencies’ funds.
“Napakalinaw sa Philhealth law na dalawa lang ang pwedeng paggamitan ng pondong ito; it’s either palawakin niyo ‘yung coverage natin bilang mga PhilHealth beneficiaries or pababain ang premium,” she said.
(It is very clear in the PhilHealth law that there are only two allowed uses for these funds; either they expand our coverage as PhilHealth beneficiaries or lower the premiums.)
“Hindi po kasama dun na kung may hindi nagagastos ang PhilHealth ay pondohan natin ‘yung ibang programa ng gobyerno,” Magno added.
(It does not include using unspent PhilHealth funds to finance other government programs.)
Gillian Roque, chief of staff of the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation Foundation, Inc., added, “Ginagamit talaga ‘yung justification na mapupunta ‘yung pondo na kukunin sa PhilHealth bilang pangbayad doon sa HEA.”
(They are really using the justification that the funds taken from PhilHealth will be used to pay for the HEA.)
“’Wag po nilang pagbabanggain ‘yung health insurance at health emergency allowance na utang po nila sa mga health workers na nagsilbi noong panahon ng pandemya,” she added.
(Please don’t pit health insurance against the health emergency allowance that they owe to the healthcare workers who served during the pandemic.)
The group added that 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.”