MANILA: At least P13 billion of the P60 billion diverted from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) in 2024 were used as government counterpart financing for foreign-assisted projects (FAPs), a lawmaker revealed on Saturday, as Congress discussed how to return the amount to the state insurer.
During the first day of the bicameral conference committee deliberations, House appropriations committee senior vice chair and Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia gave a breakdown of where the money went after it was reverted to the national treasury on the basis of a special provision in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The largest chunk — P27.45 billion — was used to pay the long-delayed public health emergency benefits and allowances for healthcare and non-healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another P10 billion, Garcia said, was added to the Department of Health’s controversial medical assistance programme for indigent and financially incapable patients, which civil society groups have long flagged as a type of pork project.
However, Sen Imee Marcos flagged the P13 billion that was eventually earmarked to fund FAPs and questioned why money intended for healthcare was used to fund infrastructure projects.
“We’re going to allocate P60 billion for the second time. That’s a big amount, and we need to account for that,” Marcos said.
“We don’t want it to suddenly turn into government counterpart funding for FAPs that have nothing to do with the health of our countrymen, that’s not right.”
She called on the state insurer to publicly release a detailed accounting of its fund use and to accelerate the expansion of benefit packages, including zero-balance billing and coverage for catastrophic and high-cost illnesses, to ensure members directly feel the impact of restored funds.
To this, Garcia said they would require PhilHealth to submit a more detailed breakdown and clarify how future appropriations will comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The rest of the P60 billion went to the procurement of medical equipment for Department of Health hospitals, local government-run facilities, and primary health centers (P4.1 billion); three DOH facilities (P3.37 billion), and the DOH’s health facilities enhancement program (P1.69 billion).
Last week, the SC voided a special provision of the 2024 budget law and a circular from the Department of Finance (DOF) that was used as a basis to return the P60 billion, which was part of the “excess” PhilHealth funds totaLling P89.9 billion, that the DOF, then headed by Ralph Recto, intended to be moved to the treasury.
Even before this, Congress had already realigned P60 billion from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) toward state subsidy for the National Health Insurance Program. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
