BY: ANGELICA ARQUERO
The Department of Finance (DOF) continues to assert the legality of retrieving 89.9 billion pesos in idle PhilHealth funds, emphasizing that unused government subsidies should be returned to the national treasury.
During the fourth oral argument hearing at the Supreme Court regarding the transfer of excess PhilHealth funds, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto defended the government’s move, stating that the 60 billion pesos already returned was used to fund essential pandemic-related services, including support for frontliners, construction of hospitals, and public access to medicine.
“The move to revert this excess fund is not only legal but also an economically sound and moral duty,” Recto said. “We cannot, in good conscience, allow funds to languish in bank accounts as our nation’s needs multiply daily.”
He added that while the General Appropriations Act of 2024 permits the return of up to 183.1 billion pesos from PhilHealth, the department exercised prudence by limiting the retrieval to unused subsidies from 2021 to 2023.
However, PhilHealth President Dr. Edwin Mercado countered that the supposed “surplus” funds are crucial for their operations this year. He said the agency is projecting a shortfall of 60 to 70 billion pesos to cover a budgeted 271 billion pesos in benefit payouts.
“We will start using our surplus funds this year because our projected revenue will not be enough to cover our expanded services,” Mercado said.
PhilHealth also reiterated its commitment to realign priorities toward benefiting more underprivileged Filipinos, in line with the Universal Health Care Law passed in 2019.
Despite this, petitioners argued that the country still has a long way to go in achieving true universal healthcare.
Counsel Paula Mae Tanquieng expressed cautious optimism with the agency’s new leadership but emphasized the need to see plans fully implemented before extending trust.
The Supreme Court hearings continue as deliberations remain ongoing on whether the remaining PhilHealth funds should be returned or retained for health programs.
