A senior lawmaker called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday to order the return of nearly P90 billion in excess funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which was transmitted to the national treasury to finance unprogrammed appropriations.

“The President will do justice to the more than 104 million members of PhilHealth if he orders the return of the funds. The money belongs to PhilHealth members, not to a so-called ‘general fund’ of the national government,” Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez lamented.

According to Rodriguez, the funds could be used to improve the healthcare benefits of PhilHealth members, increase the amount of health insurance coverage, or provide additional services not presently covered by the state-run health insurance system.

“This way, it is the members who will benefit from their funds, not some personalities who would dip their fingers into the P90-billion ‘general fund’,” he  pointed out.

Rodriguez’s remarks added to the growing concerns of lawmakers against Memorandum Circular No. 003-2024, issued by the Department of Finance (DoF).

The circular instructs the GOCCs (government-owned and -controlled corporations), including PhilHealth, to divert their idle funds to the national treasury to bankroll unprogrammed appropriations in Republic Act No. 11975 or the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

PhilHealth’s excess funds amount to P89.9 billion. The sum is an accumulation of the state-run health insurer's dormant funds over the last three years.

Unprogrammed appropriations are "standby funds" outside the regular allocations that the government can tap in the event of unexpected events, such as calamities.

Some groups have raised suspicions that the unprogrammed appropriations would be used to bankroll the Maharlika Investment Fund, the country's sovereignty fund.

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, earlier called into question the legality and propriety of the fund transfer, asserting that the budget originally allocated for the healthcare sector must remain, above all, utilized to help financially challenged patients.

The Makabayan bloc initiated a congressional probe into the issue, claiming it was a “blatant raid” on PhilHealth funds.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda and Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co, the chairpersons of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Committee on Appropriations, respectively, meanwhile, are in support of the DoF’s move.

Salceda and Co contended that rather than leaving it sleeping in PhilHealth, the funds must be put to better use, such as public investment, in a firm belief that it would lessen the pressure on the government to borrow with corresponding interest.

As of May, P20 billion of the P89.9 billion had already been transferred to the national treasury. PhilHealth said the diversion of the funds was approved by Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, who chairs its board.

Rodriguez, however, argued that the government should not interfere with “what it has paid for the health insurance coverage of millions of the poor and the elderly and make these people pay for their health insurance.”

He also chided Herbosa for falling short of fighting for the retention of the funds in PhilHealth.

“Secretary Herbosa should explain this failure, which is not congruent with his previous declaration that PhilHealth funds are for the benefit of its members,” he said.