P60-B ‘excess funds’ returned to PhilHealth
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) confirmed that it had fully received the P60-billion “excess fund” whose earlier transfer to the national treasury was ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The disclosure came eight months after President Marcos ordered the return of the funds to the state health insurer.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, PhilHealth said the return of the excess funds in full was “a clear expression of the President’s confidence that PhilHealth can fulfill its mandate of being a partner to every Filipino in addressing health-care needs.”
“PhilHealth reaffirms its commitment to uphold the trust given by the President and the Filipino people. The corporation assures that every peso will be allocated toward enhancing benefits, strengthening systems to speed up processes and delivering services to every Filipino that are fast, fair and truly reliable,” it added.
The Department of Budget and Management issued the special allotment release order for the full amount on April 21, upon the approval of the Office of the President on April 14.
PhilHealth said Mr. Marcos has made a clear directive to “use the funds to improve health services and ensure these reach every Filipino.”
It also cited the “important role” of the Department of Finance (DOF) in the “immediate remittance” of the P60 billion.
Enhance benefit packages
The amount would augment the state health insurer’s P393-billion corporate operating budget for 2026, which is mostly funded by the mandatory premium contribution of its members, amounting to P247 billion.
According to Dr. Israel Francis Pargas, PhilHealth spokesperson and senior vice president for health finance policy sector, the returned funds would help in financing PhilHealth’s aggressive increase in the benefit packages for patients admitted to hospitals, as well as the expansion of its primary care benefit package called Yaman ng Kalusugan program (formerly Konsulta).
The allocation would also expedite the implementation of PhilHealth’s Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment package to other provinces outside Metro Manila. Under the package, each member may avail of 75 medicines for free at select clinics and pharmacies of up to P20,000 a year.
This may also fund the proposed expansion of benefit packages for leptospirosis, animal bite treatment and human immunodeficiency virus treatment.
Last week, PhilHealth approved a significant increase for the maternity benefits package: normal delivery increased by almost three times from P9,750 to P29,000; while cesarean-section delivery coverage was raised from P37,050 to between P58,000 and P62,000.
The return of the funds would also help in making the government’s “zero balance billing” program sustainable.
Pargas explained that expanding the PhilHealth benefit packages would result in lower hospital bills for patients that the national government, particularly the Department of Health, would need to shoulder.
Legal remedy
PhilHealth’s excess funds were transferred to the national treasury in three tranches in 2024, but were ordered returned by the President on Sept. 20, 2025.
According to Mr. Marcos, the funds were restored following savings generated from other government agencies, particularly the Department of Public Works and Highways, which did not receive any funding for local flood control projects this year on the heels of allegations of widespread corruption.
The President’s decision came ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue and the plan of different groups to mount large demonstrations condemning the massive corruption in government.
In its decision in December last year, the high court voided Special Provision 1(d), Chapter XLIII of the 2024 General Appropriations Act and the Department Circular No. 003-2024 of the DOF, paving the way for the return of the funds.
Congress then allocated P60 billion as part of PhilHealth’s subsidy in the 2026 national budget as “the only legal and constitutional remedy” to return the money to the state health insurer.
This increased PhilHealth’s total government subsidy to P113 billion, with the P53 billion allocated for the premiums of more than 41 million indirect contributors, who are senior citizens, persons with disabilities, indigents, 4Ps beneficiaries and those without the capacity to pay.
In February 2024, then Finance Secretary Ralph Recto issued the circular directing PhilHealth, among other government-owned and -controlled corporations, to remit to the national treasury its unutilized subsidies amounting to P89.9 billion from 2021 to 2023 to fund the government’s unprogrammed appropriations.
PhilHealth had remitted P60 billion: P20 billion was transferred to the treasury in May 2024, P10 billion in August, and P30 billion in October the same year.
The remaining P29.90 billion was supposed to be transferred in November 2024, but was blocked by the high court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order.
