Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday announced the return of PHP60 billion in excess funds to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), after its previous transfer to the national treasury, to support the state health insurer’s expansion. Marcos made the pronouncement during his visit to Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Santa Cruz, Manila.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order in October last year against the further transfer of PhilHealth funds to the national treasury following several petitions. However, PHP60 billion in unutilized funds were already transferred at the time of the filing, with only PHP29.9 billion remaining with PhilHealth. In April this year, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the move to redirect PhilHealth’s excess funds is ‘legal, moral and economically sound,’ noting that not a single centavo from its members’ contributions was touched. Recto also said around 78 percent of PhilHealth’s PHP60-billion remittance was used to finance critical health projects.
Marcos conducted a visit to the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital to evaluate the implementation of the government’s Zero Balance Billing policy, which eliminates out-of-pocket expenses for PhilHealth members receiving medical services in public hospitals. During the visit, he inspected the hospital’s facilities and met with frontline healthcare workers and patients. The President said the government is committed to making healthcare services more accessible to Filipinos by removing barriers to essential services.
‘And what more can you ask of our healthcare workers more than that? And you are continuing to save lives. You are continuing to give hope to our people, to our families. And that is the most important thing that we can do, to give hope,’ he said. ‘So again, we have to congratulate all our health workers, because we know that you are all very hardworking, and we know how dedicated you are,’ Marcos added.