There’s something more than meets the eye in the sweep of state firms’ idle funds that led to the current imbroglio where P89.9 billion in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) funds was reallocated to the National Treasury.

A fiscal expert said the legislators did something questionable in the 2024 budget — they added special provisions to the General Appropriations Act that gave the executive branch access to funds of government-owned and -controlled corporations and foreign-assisted projects.

Thus, PhilHealth being a GOCC could have its funds reallocated, according to the expert.

The GAA is a general law, which cannot amend a special law such as the PhilHealth Act and the Universal Health Care Act.

Those particular laws expressly indicate that if PhilHealth has excess funds, these can only be used to increase benefits for the members or lower members’ premiums, but not for other purposes.

It seems the provisions to sweep up idle funds of state firms were inserted for the particular purpose of juggling the national budget.

This happened in the bicameral conference committee, the source pointed out. Bicam proceedings then should be made transparent to prevent horse-trading behind closed doors.

The bicam literally conducts business clandestinely since it does not keep records or have transcripts of the minutes and statements made during meetings.

“It is considered the third chamber and the most powerful when it comes to budget measures,” according to the source.

The hearings on the budget are open to the public and both chambers appoint representatives to the bicam led by the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the head of the Senate Finance Committee.

That is where some regular budget items were transferred to unprogrammed funds while some new items were included.

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio led the filing of a new petition questioning the legality of the PhilHealth funds transfer.

The petition was filed with the Supreme Court on 16 October, the day the third tranche of P30 billion was transferred from PhilHealth to the National Treasury to be ultimately used to finance unprogrammed projects.

Carpio’s group filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with the High Court that may result in a temporary restraining order on the further transfer of funds.

The former magistrate said Finance Secretary Ralph Recto would be personally liable if the court rules the transfer was illegal and he could face plunder charges. Carpio said the Constitution does not allow laws authorizing the transfer of appropriations and funds that were sourced from taxes for specific purposes.

Under the law, the official responsible for the transfer of the funds must be held accountable for the full amount. “Recto may be personally liable,” Carpio said. He said the Constitution is very specific on fund transfers:

“No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations. However, the President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of Constitutional Commissions may, by law, be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations.”

“The Charter specifies who can authorize the transfer of savings and it does not include the finance secretary,” he noted.

Carpio, moreover, said the Constitution is specific that “funds raised through taxation for a special purpose cannot be used for any other purpose, except for that purpose specified by law.”

PhilHealth gets its funds from member contributions and proceeds from the excise tax. The money is meant for the use of its members and to provide health care to indigents.

Thus, Carpio said, even the President does not have the authority to transfer PhilHealth funds, which can only be repurposed if the agency has accomplished its projects or abandoned them.

Probing the circumstances that led to the siphoning of public money from PhilHealth will, however, prove tricky since those being accused were part of the heist.