SC stops further transfer of PhilHealth Funds

 

Petitioners say PhilHealth's funds should be spent on providing
 much-needed health care to 'poorest of poor' Filipinos

The Supreme Court (SC) en banc issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) Tuesday on the further transfer of the P89.9-billion excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the national treasury.

So far, PhilHealth has transferred  a total of  Php 60billion in three tranches to the national treasury. The last tranche — worth P29.9 billion — was slated to be transferred next month..

 “The Supreme Court issued a TRO to enjoin the further transfer of PhilHealth funds to the national treasury,” High Court spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting said in a press conference.  “Effective immediately,” she added.

Asked if this meant that the previously transferred funds would be  returned to PhilHealth, Ting said this was not the subject of the TRO.

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Retired SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio who was among those who filed the petition with the Supreme Court, said he was grateful for the order, as it save the tens of  millions of “poorest of the poor Filipinos” who only rely on PhilHealth for their medical needs.

But, he added, “We hope that the Executive Branch will return all the transferred funds back to Philhealth pending the final decision of the Supreme Court.”

PhilHealth President Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said the national health insurer respects and will fully abide by the SC’s decision.

“We remain focused on our mission to provide all Filipinos with adequate financial protection against health risks through better and responsive benefit packages and availment policies that ensure greater access to healthcare services whenever and wherever they need them most,” he said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Secretary Ralph Recto also said the Department of Finance will respect the SC’s decision.

“We give our full cooperation to the SC as we look forward to the opportunity to shed light on the issues presented during the oral arguments,” he said.

“With this honorable platform, we trust that all issues will be addressed once and for all,” he said.

At the same time, he reiterated that the DOF’s move was in line with Republic Act 11975 or the GAA 2024, which mandates that all idle, unused and excess funds of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) must revert to the national treasury.

"We reiterate that before proceeding with the utilization of GOCC idle funds, our agency exercised due diligence and consulted extensively with the government's legal experts,” said Recto.

“These include the Governance Commission for GOCCs, the Government Corporate Counsel, and the Commission on Audit.”

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) which represents the government officials named as respondents in the pleadings also affirmed compliance with the TRO.

Several groups have filed petitions questioning the legality of the transfers, with the first one being made in August by Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and the Philippine Medical Association, among others.

On Oct. 16,  the day the third tranche of funds was due to be transferred, the 1SAMBAYAN Coalition, headed by Justice Carpio, along with Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares and other members, filed separate petitions.

A number of former senior government officials who also came out publicly to denounce the fund transfer said PhilHealth funds are desperately needed by Filipinos who do not have access to health care.

They claimed that the real intention of the fund transfers was to fund pork barrel allocations inserted into the 2024 national budget.

The SC  has directed all the respondents in 1SAMBAYAN coalition’s petition to file their comments, and set oral arguments on the petitions in January 2025.

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