Use PhilHealth excess funds to bankroll standby funds — Salceda

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda has backed the proposal of the Department of Finance (DoF) to take away the excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and use it to bankroll unprogrammed appropriations in a bid to prevent the country from resorting to loans with corresponding interest.

Salceda, the chairperson of the House committee on ways and means, said it's best to utilize such excess funds than let it "sleep" in PhilHealth.

"We can’t have excess money sleeping around our GOCCs (government-owned and -controlled corporations) while withholding that same money from public investment," said Salceda in a message to reporters yesterday.

"Low government spending reduces growth. Reduced growth creates poverty. Poverty creates hunger. Hunger creates disease," he added.

Salceda made the remark amid concerns that DoF Circular No. 003—2024 would target the excess funds of financial institutions, including the state-run insurer, PhilHealth, to finance unprogrammed appropriations, believed to compromise their core mandate.

Unprogrammed appropriations are "standby funds" outside the regular allocations that can be tapped by the government in the event of unexpected events, such as calamities, among others.

Salceda emphasized that PhilHealth still has overwhelming funds since it regularly receives a subsidy from the national government on top of the premiums it collects from its members. 

"In other words, that’s taxpayer money, not contributor money," the economist-lawmaker lamented.

"I think the reasoning of the DoF is that, if taxpayer money is sleeping in Philhealth, it’s better to use that money for other needs rather than borrow with interest. It saves the taxpayer money. It’s that simple."

According to Salceda, PhilHealth has already received a significant P162 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies under the Marcos administration alone.

Last month, PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said that PhilHealth has excess funds totaling P89.9 billion from government allocations in the last three years.

"If there’s still excess money, then that means we gave too much subsidies... Since Philhealth doesn’t spend all the money given to it, [then we] stop giving it a subsidy every year," Salceda stressed.

Nevertheless, he stated that he is more in favor of the current approach of the government giving PhilHealth a significant subsidy at the start of the year, then "withdrawing the money later during the year if it proves to be too much."

"Anyway, Philhealth will get a subsidy for 2025 – and budget season is about to start. If it can spend all that money next year, then there is nothing for the DOF to withdraw. No issue," he said.