While the Supreme Court (SC) is scheduled to conduct oral arguments today regarding the petitions opposing the transfer of the P89.9-billion "excess funds" of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the national treasury, personalities in the health sector continue to criticize the transfer of funds as unjust.
According to Juan Antonio Perez III, former executive director of the Commission on Population and Development, PhilHealth's statement that there are "excess funds" is confusing and therefore the transfer of the alleged excess funds is unjust.
According to Perez, based on PhilHealth's annual financial report certified by the Commission on Audit, contrary to Finance Secretary Ralph Recto's statement, PhilHealth has negative equity due to its liabilities of P1.27 trillion.
Perez also emphasized that the "PhilHealth deficit is at P663 billion, the second largest among all government-owned and controlled corporations."
Therefore, according to Perez, the transfer of P60 billion in 2024 by PhilHealth is not fair. Perez continued his statement at a forum in Quezon City.
Last year, PhilHealth transferred P20 billion in May, P10 billion in August, and P30 billion in October. Part of the SC petition is the return of all these funds to PhilHealth.
Perez added, also criticized that Congress and the executive have completely reduced the funding for PhilHealth, which allocated a zero budget for the state insurer in 2025.
“The defunding of PhilHealth means that the government has denied payment for the premiums of millions of PhilHealth indirect contributors. These wrong steps can cause problems for indirect members who seek health care," said Perez.
Health groups hope the SC can help ensure that funds like sin taxes go to the right purpose and that the executive and legislative branches follow through.
Health care groups have also pointed out that the latest challenge to Universal Health Care (UHC) is a policy that undermines sin tax laws.
The House of Representatives approved House Bill 11360 on January 28th that lowers excise tax rates on tobacco and vape products.
According to the Sin Tax Coalition (STC), it is estimated that this will result in a P29-billion loss in the revenue of UHC and other programs, and possibly cause an additional 350,000 new smokers from 2026-2030 due to the fall in tobacco prices.
"This threatens the continuation of PhilHealth's funding for Universal Health Care," the group said.
Antonio Dans, convenor of STC, appealed to political leaders and local government officials not to abandon UHC.
"Let's not make health and health care secondary. The defunding of PhilHealth and the sabotaging of the sin tax laws are mercilessly against morality and against the people," he said.
