The Supreme Court order to return the P60 billion in excess funds back to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was a ‘victory for the right to health,’ former party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said in a statement on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the court ruled in favor of returning funds from the National Treasury to PhilHealth.
‘It is a significant development that the Court upheld the right to health of the people. We have long argued that the right to health is self-executing and does not need an implementing law to be a source of right. We can use this decision in cases where the right to health is violated,’ Colmenares, who is the Bayan Muna chairperson, said.
‘The funds for PhilHealth were returned, and they cannot do that again for future budgets. This is a significant victory not just in recovering the funds but in preventing similar illegal transfers in the future,’ he added in Filipino.
Colmenares was among the petitioners asking the SC to block the transfer of PhilHealth’s excess funds to the National Treasury.
The SC ruling declared void Special Provision 1(d) in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which authorized the return of the ‘fund balance’ or excess reserve funds of government-owned or controlled corporations like PhilHealth to the National Treasury.
The high court found Special Provision 1(d) ambiguous for the concept of ‘fund balance,’ which is not defined in the 2024 GAA.
It also declared the provision void since it impliedly repealed Section 11 of the UHCA and Sin Tax Laws.
‘Sa susunod na budget, mas magiging mahigpit pa ang pagbabantay sa bicam dahil sa kasong ito,’ Colmenares maintained.
‘In the next budget, our vigilance will be greater for the bicam because of this case. We must remain watchful to ensure this does not happen again,’ Colmenares said. /atm