From the Department of Finance (DoF) which issued the circular that sought to sweep up “excess funds” of state firms to fund P203 billion of projects bumped off the 2024 budget to accommodate pork barrel projects, the attention has turned to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

According to budget watchdogs, the DBM should not have allowed the bicameral conference committee to switch essential projects in the 2024 budget with insertions from legislators in the bicam.

The DoF directive sought to retrieve allocated subsidies of P89.9 billion from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and P110 billion from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. to partly cover unprogrammed items in the budget displaced by the pork barrel insertions.

The Medical Action Group (MAG), in a manifesto, insisted on its claim that the reduction in the PhilHealth subsidy will impact so-called indirect members. DBM merely dismissed the health group’s claim as “fake news.”

The group, however, said that comparisons between budget documents and the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) showed a significant reduction in the PhilHealth budget.

Withdrawing the PhilHealth subsidy, P30 billion of which was taken last month, resulted in a decrease in the number of beneficiaries who are poor, from 25.2 million to 10.6 million.

Thus directly impacted by the DoF slash are vulnerable groups, including 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) beneficiaries, senior citizens, persons with disability (PWDs), and their dependents.

The DoF action also undermined the Universal Healthcare Act, which provides for healthcare for all Filipinos, particularly those who cannot afford private insurance.

The association of doctors and health workers said that by reducing PhilHealth coverage, the government was placing millions of Filipinos at risk of losing essential services.

The group indicated the DBM was accountable for the reduced PhilHealth funds.

DBM’s technical reviews before the National Expenditure Program (NEP) was submitted to Congress laid the groundwork for funding decisions. PhilHealth had requested P80 billion to support indirect contributors, in line with RA 10606 or the National Health Insurance Act of 2013 and other laws benefiting vulnerable populations.

DBM, instead, transferred P40 billion from PhilHealth to the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance to Indigents and Financially Incapable Patients (MAIFIP) program, which MAG said led to a significant reduction in coverage.

MAIFIP is intended to top up what PhilHealth provides and logically, according to MAG, the government should fund the indirect contributors first and use the MAIFIP as a funding last resort.

Only 10.6 million indirect members are currently insured, far below PhilHealth’s original target of 21 million, which the fund reduction will not help increase in any way.

In the 2025 budget deliberations, the DBM used reduced figures as it outlined coverage for 14.1 million for 2025 which was significantly lower than PhilHealth’s recommended coverage of 25.2 million for 2025.

The cut in health insurance benefits leaves over 30 million Filipinos, including dependents, without protection when they get sick.

DBM’s recommendation to lower the premiums for National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction members and senior citizens further limited the coverage period by half, restricting the program’s ability to meet the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations.

DBM is now being asked to face health groups to explain either its complicity with the pork-hungry legislators or its neglect of the plight of the poor robbed of their healthcare services.

Instead of dismissing these legitimate concerns, the DBM should engage in transparent, evidence-based dialogue with civil society organizations, according to the group.

PhilHealth’s budget cuts should be reconsidered as the health and well-being of the most vulnerable members of society should take priority over kickbacks and percentages of legislators.

The reduction in PhilHealth coverage has far-reaching consequences for millions of Filipinos which the DBM and the DoF should have considered before covering up the mangling of the 2024 budget with Congress insertions.