PhilHealth fund transfer faces SC challenge

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

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

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

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

“He doesn’t have such large assets,” he said.

Carpio, along with 1Sambayan members, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, former Commission on Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza, and lawyer Howie Calleja; UP Prof. Cielo Magno, Fr. Robert Reyes, Fr. Flavie Villanueva, Fr. Bong Sarabia and Fr. Christian Buenafe; the 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, 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 SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the Department of Finance from transferring the PhilHealth funds.

They cited published reports indicating that Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto announced the transfer of P30 billion from PhilHealth funds to the national treasury on Wednesday, 16 October.

A TRO was not issued for the first two petitions. However, after receiving comments from the parties, the Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments on the petitions for 14 January 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” the special provisions under Paragraph 1(d), Chapter XLIII of Republic Act 11975, the General Appropriations Act of 2024, and Department of Finance Circular 003-2024.

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