The Supreme Court (SC) received a petition challenging the constitutionality of the transfer of the P89.9 billion excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the National Treasury.
 

On Tuesday, a group led by retired SC senior associate Justice Antonio Carpio filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with the High Court. 

Their petition is based on two grounds—that the Constitution does not allow laws authorizing the transfer of appropriations and funds sourced through the public taxes for specific purposes cannot be used elsewhere.
 

Carpio said Finance Secretary Ralph Recto would personally have to pay P89.9 billion to cover for the transfer if the High Court deems it unconstitutional.

 “Wala siyang ganiyang kalaking assets (he does not have that big of an amount in assets),” he said.

Carpio, along with 1Sambayan members former ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, former Commission on Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza, and lawyer Howie Calleja; Fr. Robert Reyes, Fr. Flavie Villanueva, Fr. Bong Sarabia, and Fr. Christian Buenafe, Kidney Foundation of the Philippines, Senior for Seniors, and law students from San Beda College Alabang filed the petition. The petitioners are the 1SAMBAYAN Coalition, members of the University of the Philippines Law Class 1975, Senior for Seniors Association, Inc., Kidney Foundation of the Philippines, and other private individuals.

The group, aside from questioning the legality of the fund transfer, also asked the high bench to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) that could stop the Department of Finance from transferring the excess PhilHealth funds.

They cited published reports that Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto had announced that P30 billion of PhilHealth funds will be transferred to the national treasury on Wednesday.

A TRO was not issued by the in the first two petitions, but upon receipt of the comments of the parties, the SC set oral arguments on the petitions on 14 Jan. 2025.

The third petition is expected to be included in the oral arguments should the SC act on it and require the respondents in the new case to comment.

Also, the new petition challenged as “unconstitutional” are the special provisions under Paragraph 1(d), Chapter XLIII of Republic Act No. 11975, the General Appropriations Act of 2024, and Department of Finance (DOF) Circular 003-2024.  

The SC was told in the new petition that in April 2024, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto G. Recto instructed PhilHealth to remit to the Bureau of Treasury its fund balance of P89.9 billion labeled as “excess” funds for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 from subsidy for the premium contributions of indigents paid for by the government.