House panel OKS additional P60-B subsidy for PhilHealth

A House appropriations subcommittee has voted to retain the proposed additional P60-billion subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in the 2026 national budget, while also requiring the agency to submit detailed reports on how the funds are spent.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the budget amendments review subcommittee agreed to incorporate a new provision in the budget requiring PhilHealth to submit a yearly report to Congress by June 30 detailing the use of the previous year’s subsidies.

The report will supplement the annual reportorial requirement under the Universal Health Care (UHC) law, which mandates disclosure of all earmarked funds from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and sin tax revenues.

The new provision, said Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, aims to strengthen congressional oversight over how PhilHealth would use its state subsidies next year, which would amount to P113 billion.

Of this, P53 billion was allocated for the state insurer under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) plus an additional P60 billion that was realigned from the slashed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The P60 billion also represents the amount of excess PhilHealth funds that were transferred to the national treasury in 2024 and ordered returned to the agency by the President on Sept. 20.

Suansing said the report would also serve as Congress’ basis for deciding future subsidies.

In 2025, Congress stripped PhilHealth completely of state subsidies for not using its funds properly and for accumulating around P600 billion in reserve funds from unspent budgets.

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However, civil watchdog groups later discovered that the P74 billion budget initially allocated for the agency under the 2025 NEP was realigned to, among others, the DPWH as well as Congress’ pet social welfare program, the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita program.

In restoring the subsidies this year, the state insurer must prove it would direct the fund toward expanding packages and benefits, FPJ Bayanihan Rep. Brian Poe said.

“If this (the P60 billion) is what PhilHealth wants, then let’s give them this, but let’s hold them to it. If by next year our constituents are still complaining that PhilHealth hasn’t been fulfilling their commitments, then they should also realize that that may affect their subsidy subsequently,” he added.