PhilHealth not spending P138M to mark 30th year
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) clarified on Wednesday that it would spend only around a “few hundred thousand pesos” and not P138 million as supposedly initially planned for its 30th anniversary celebration next year.
“We are only planning to spend a few hundred thousand pesos. No excessive spending,” PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said at the hearing of the Senate committee on health and demography.
The clarification was made after some senators criticized the agency’s initial budget for its anniversary.
In a related development, the Department of Health (DOH) said in a statement that PhilHealth’s board of directors, chaired by Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, had “immediately vetoed” the proposed procurement of P37.5 million worth of items for the agency’s anniversary in February.
The P37.5-million procurement was part of the marketing and promotional expenses for the event.
“Urging for financial responsibility, the board of directors decided to cancel the proposed procurement to save government funds and ensure its proper allocation for the benefits of PhilHealth members,” the DOH said.
The items to be procured included umbrellas worth P7.9 million; perforated mesh stickers, P7.3 million; tote bags, P1.820 million; anniversary shirts, P3.640 million; marketing shirts, P1.940 million; jackets, P13.650 million; “katsa” or canvas fabric bags, P750,000; and button pins, P545,000.
Priority
“The PhilHealth board reviews and decides on proposals coming from the PhilHealth management, such as the marketing and promotional expenses for the official events of the corporation. The board will always prioritize the benefits of PhilHealth members,” the DOH statement also quoted Herbosa as saying.
The state health insurer has drawn flak for having billions of pesos in excess funds but failing to significantly reduce the out-of-pocket medical expenses of members. On Tuesday, House lawmakers called it out for prioritizing investing its reserve funds in government securities and corporate funds instead of raising health-care benefits.
PhilHealth was created through Republic Act No. 7875, or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995, which then President Fidel Ramos signed into law on Feb. 14, 1995.
