Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito on Wednesday blamed the leadership of the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for transferring excess funds to the National Treasury, saying the company should never have announced that it would have the extra budget in the first place.

“Why would you declare P89 billion in excess funds when there are still people struggling to pay their hospital bills? Ejercito said during Kapihan sa Senado: P89 billion (excess funds) money, Filipino and nahihirapan bayaran sa kanilang (a large number of people struggling to pay their medical bills) While there is a Filipino)?” said Ejercito.

“Also, we are getting a lot of information, there are complaints of P500,000 in medical bills of young people. PhilHealth, P12,000 lang to P15,000,” Ejercito said.

(The sad thing is that we receive so much information and complaints about medical bills reaching P500,000, but PhilHealth will only cover P12,000 to P15,000 of that.)

The senator made this statement after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a decision. temporary restraining order (TRO) regarding the further transfer of PhilHealth’s P89.9 billion surplus funds to the national treasury to finance other priority government programs.

“Parang Hindi mo nardaman. This rate is 30%, 40% and even 50% and this rate is 30%, 40% and even 50%. Cash in currency, P100,000 (billing), synagogue (PhilHealth), P8,000 (language). I would like to remind PhilHealth that they are not a private company that can make profits and save money at the end of the year. Kailangan is ‘working in the wrong way’ to benefit me, he added.

(You can’t even feel PhilHealth’s subsidy. If they had covered 30%, 40%, or even 50% of the final bill, it would already be a huge help. Also, the hospital bill has reached P100,000 and PhilHealth is only P8,000.) I would like to remind you that PhilHealth is not a private profit-seeking company and savings must be made by the end of the year.)

Finance Minister Ralph Recto said it will happen Respect The SC ruling, however, maintained that the 2024 national budget allows for the said transfer of PhilHealth surplus funds.

“We reiterate that our agency did due diligence and consulted extensively with the government’s legal experts before proceeding with the use of GOCC idle funds. These include the GOCC Governance Commission, the Government Corporate Counsel and the Audit Commission. These efforts are undertaken to ensure full compliance with our Laws,” the Finance chief said.

However, Ejercito argued that it was PhilHealth, not Recto, that was at fault because the declaration of excess funds was contrary to the agency’s authority to enforce the Universal Health Care law.

He said the UHC stated that “PhilHealth’s excess funds should be used to increase benefits and reduce the amount of members’ contributions.”

“Dapat Hindi nahihirapan and mga poor people, mahirap. ‘Yung mga disabled people, ‘yung mga senior citizen, working to cover hospital expenses and cover hospital expenses. Before declaring excess or savings, do this. So, Hindi and DOF can be cased the same way, I think it’s PhilHealth,” Ejercito said.

(Poor people should not struggle to pay hospital bills. We should address this issue before declaring surplus or savings. So this is not a fault of the Ministry of Finance. I think this is on PhilHealth.)

Ejercito, however, acknowledged that Congress should ensure that the proposed P6.325 trillion budget for 2025 includes a provision that expressly excludes the transfer of excess PhilHealth funds to other government programs provided under the national budget.

“Especially for PhilHealth…kasi nga work continues eh. Dapat kung fully implemented, doon lang natin siguro sabihin na dapat itong pakialaman. Huwag natin sanang pakialaman. Let’s give the Universal Health Care Act a chance,” said Ejercito, author of UHC in the Senate.

“This is truly a landmark law that aims to ease the burden on ordinary Filipinos,” he added.

However, the SC said the TRO covers only P29.9 billion of the P89.9 billion because the P60 billion excess PhilHealth funds have already been transferred to the national treasury.

But for Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares, one of the petitioners seeking the TRO, the entire P89 billion should be returned to PhilHealth because the transfer of funds is illegal and puts the financial security of depositors and the health of Filipinos at risk.

“This TRO is a significant victory for the Filipino people, especially PhilHealth beneficiaries who rely on these funds for their healthcare needs. This decision prevents a serious injustice,” he said in a separate statement.

“Funds transferred to the national treasury but not yet spent on unscheduled fund projects should be returned to Philhealth. We must protect these funds from being diverted to unscheduled appropriations filled with pork barrel projects that threaten job security and workers’ social rights.” . —AOL, GMA Integrated News