DOF reiterates use of PhilHealth funds for ‘unprogrammed’ items

The Department of Finance (DOF) continued on Thursday to justify its wish to gain control of P89.9 billion in excess funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to pay for “unprogrammed” budget items in this year’s budget.

Euvimil Nina Asuncion, director of the DOF legal services group, said the funds will be used for delayed health workers’ allowances, salary increases for government workers and flood control projects which should have been paid for from previously allocated budgets for earlier fiscal years.

Asuncion said the impoundment of the supposed “excess funds” complied with Republic Act No. 11975, or the General Appropriations Act of 2024.

However, the Philippine Medical Association, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, former finance undersecretary Cielo Magno, Dr. Ma. Dominga Padilla and the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, among others, have disputed the impoundment.

Complaints

Objections to the fund transfer have grown recently, particularly from elderly PhilHealth members who cannot “recollect” decades-worth of premium contributions and only get PhilHealth benefits that barely cover their maintenance medication.

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to respond to a petition to stop the transfer of funds but has not issued a temporary restraining order against the remittances.

At the same time, Asuncion confirmed that Philhealth on Wednesday remitted P10 billion to the state coffers comprising the second tranche of the P89.9-billion intended fund transfers.

The P10 billion was part of a staggered remittance plan that also included an initial P20 billion that was transferred in May.

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“So, a total of 30 billion has been remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury,” she added.

But Pimentel, who has been a senator since 2011 and presided over budget deliberations for at least three fiscal years, lamented the consummated transfer of funds.“We can only appeal to the executive branch to abandon and reverse their plan,” said Pimentel, who hoped that “we can force the reversal of the current action of the executive branch since there is a pending case before the Supreme Court.”

Pimentel’s sole partner in the Senate minority, Sen. Risa Hontiveros earlier said that the country’s recent credit rating upgrade and consequently lower cost of money should persuade the government to abandon the plan.

“Because our credit rating has been upgraded by the Rating and Investment Information, there is no more reason for Philhealth to continue remitting its funds to the national government because there would be more funds that can be used for health services,” she said. INQ