Inquirer photo/Niño Jesus Orbeta
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) is set to conduct oral arguments on petitions seeking to stop the remittance of P89.9 billion in funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) back to the national treasury in January next year.
In a press conference on Monday, SC spokesperson Camille Ting said the high court consolidated the two cases and scheduled the oral arguments on January 14, 2025, at 2 p.m., adding that the preliminary conference will be set on a former date.
READ: OSG wants petition to stop transfer of PhilHealth funds dismissed
Last month, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, along with a former finance undersecretary, doctors, and public health advocates, filed a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a section of the General Appropriation Act (GAA) and Department of Finance Circular No. 003-2024, which ordered the fund transfer.
Based on reports, the circular was issued in February this year in compliance with the 2024 budget law directing the finance department to issue guidelines to implement the collection of unprogrammed appropriations sourced from the fund balances of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).
In May, P20 billion from the PhilHealth fund was transferred back to the national treasury.
Last July 17, the DOF defended the transfer, as it was only doing what Congress had empowered them to do.
The finance department likewise assured the public that taking back the funds would not affect PhilHealth’s ability to provide services since they were in excess of its budget.
“We cannot afford to have excess money sleeping in our GOCCs while withholding the same funds from public investment. Hibernating funds can help the nation without harming government corporations. This way the government does not have to inflict additional taxes, increase our debt, and put pressure on our deficit,” the DOF said.
On September 2, Ting said Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares and others filed the other petition.
“In this case, Bayan Muna representatives seek to nullify the Presidential Certification of Urgency for House Bill No. 8980 or the General Appropriations Bill absent the existence of any calamity or emergency under Article VI, Section 26, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution,” she said.
“They pray that the following be declared void: the Presidential Certification, the amount of P449.5 billion inserted in the unprogrammed appropriations under the 2024 GAA,” she added.