It’s not enough for Bongbong Marcos to return our PhilHealth’s P60 billion.
The Supreme Court must outlaw the siphoning of our PhilHealth money to begin with. BBM’s admin took our P60 billion in 2024 for non-health insurance projects.
A clear ruling will stop future admins from dipping their hands in members’ funds, petitioners at the SC say.
To which I add: make the culprits pay interest on the P60 billion. Also interest on the P242.28 billion that two admins have withheld from our PhilHealth since 2019. And indict them for breaking the Universal Health Care, Sin Tax and Corporation Laws.
BBM is trying to appease us PhilHealth members. His Finance Sec. Ralph Recto misspent half of our P60 billion on the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Islands Bridges. Korea already lent money for that construction. BBM’s Health Sec. Ted Herbosa misused the other half for pandemic emergency pay of health workers. The Dept. of Health, not PhilHealth, should’ve paid for that. Herbosa is facing three ombudsman cases for fund anomalies.
Recto was deputy speaker in December 2023 when the House allotted multibillions for Charter change to parliamentary form. Congress also inserted pork barrels, mostly for fake and shoddy flood works.
In January 2024 Recto assumed as Finance chief to enforce the dirty budget. BBM signed both the 2024 budget and Recto’s appointment.
Malacañang, the Cabinet and Congress did worse in 2025. They zeroed out funds that should’ve gone to PhilHealth: 50 percent of PAGCOR and PCSO remittances to the Office of the President and 40 percent of taxes on tobacco and sweetened beverages. By keeping mum, Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman was complicit.
BBM designated Herbosa as PhilHealth chairman. He appointed as directors Recto, Pangandaman, Social Welfare Sec. Rex Gatchalian and Labor Sec. Benny Laguesma.
PhilHealth is in financial crisis. Its budget for members’ benefits this year is P271 billion. But it has spent P195 billion as of August. The balance will run out by November, said Dr. Juan Antonio Perez of Action for Economic Reform.
PhilHealth will be forced to dip into its reserve funds. That’s a no-no in any insurance operation. In fact, when BBM’s admin took our P60 billion, it called the money ‘excess’ when it was in fact reserve. We members know who to blame if our PhilHealth collapses.
PhilHealth depends this year only on P200-billion direct contributions from us income earners. That’s because the admin turned to zero the original P74 billion from sin taxes in the 2025 budget. That P74 billion too was used for fake and faulty flood works.
The SC petitioners are ex-senator Koko Pimentel, Ernesto Ofracio (now deceased), Junice Melgar, Profs. Cielo Magno and Dante Gatmaytan, Dr. Minguita Padilla, Ibarra Gutierrez, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Public Services Labor Independent Confederation Foundation Inc. and Philippine Medical Association.
BBM plans to return our P60 billion next year. He says he’ll include it in the 2026 budget – but it’s not there.
Had BBM’s admin not taken P60 billion from our PhilHealth reserve, it would’ve earned interest. The culprits should return the principal with interest.
Interest on such huge amount is five percent per annum. Since BBM will return it after two years, the principal and compounded interest should total P66.15 billion.
Two admins further owe PhilHealth P242.28 billion in PAGCOR-PCSO remittances and sin taxes. That money should’ve earned five percent yearly interest too. Charge it to the culprits.
For 2026, BBM and Pangandaman propose P53 billion for PhilHealth. But that’s only equal to the compounded interest on the P242.28 billion owed to PhilHealth since 2019.
Pangandaman was Budget undersecretary at that time.
The past and present Cabinet members in PhilHealth’s board broke the Universal Health Care and Sin Taxes Laws when they withheld P242.28 billion.
They also violated the Corporation Law. As directors they had fiduciary duty to us PhilHealth fund owners. They failed to fulfill such duty and instead obeyed wrongful orders from their appointer-President.
We PhilHealth members consist of:
66 million direct contributors from monthly incomes and our dependents;
37 million indigent members whose indirect contributions should come from PAGCOR/PCSO and sin taxes.
At present we members need to be hospitalized or undergo delicate procedures in order to benefit from our contributions. If admins remit all funds earmarked by law to PhilHealth, then we can enjoy other benefits like blood works, ultrasound, x-ray, CT scan, MRI. Even basic tooth filling.