The Supreme Court (SC) was pressed to immediately issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the transfer of P89.9 billion in PhilHealth funds to the National Treasury. A lawmaker said Thursday that without the TRO, the fund may be totally dissipated.

The transfer of P20 billion to the national treasury was done in May, followed by another P10 billion in August.

The third tranche, amounting to P30 billion, was reportedly transmitted last week, and the remaining fund of P30 billion is scheduled to be diverted in November.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said if the SC waits until 14 January —the date set for a hearing on petitions questioning the legality of the PhilHealth fund transfer — it may fail to prevent the total dissipation of the funds.

“Unless a restraining order is issued immediately, PhilHealth might turn over the remaining multi-billion balance to the treasury as early as next weekend,” he said.

“Next week it will be November. So the window for the Supreme Court to prevent the handover of the balance is closing,” Rodriguez, a lawyer, stressed.

“Perhaps the entire fund will be used up by January. What’s the use of the grass if the horse is dead? The hearing will have lost its purpose and usefulness,” he pointed out.

Health groups and others, including 1Sambayan — composed of retired SC Justice Antonio Carpio and Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III — have challenged the constitutionality of the PhilHealth fund transfer before the High Court.

The petitioners argued that the transfer of PhilHealth funds to the national treasury constituted technical malversation or plunder, as the proponents led by the Department of Finance would be applying public funds to another use other than that for which the PhilHealth funds were appropriated.

The group stressed that no provision in the Constitution authorizes the transfer of funds sourced through public taxes for specific purposes to any other purpose.

Carpio warned that Finance Secretary Ralph Recto would have to shell out P89.9 billion from his own pocket to cover the transfer if the SC declares it unconstitutional.

The fund transfer follows Memorandum Circular 003-2024 issued by the Department of Finance (DoF), instructing government-owned and -controlled corporations, including PhilHealth, to divert their idle funds to the national treasury to bankroll unprogrammed appropriations in Republic Act 11975, or the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

The P89.9 billion in PhilHealth’s excess funds was accumulated over the last three years.

Some groups have raised suspicions the unprogrammed appropriations would be used to bankroll the Maharlika Investment Fund, the country’s sovereign fund, or the administration’s senatorial candidates in the 2025 elections.

Rodriguez urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order the DoF and the Department of Budget and Management to withhold the use of the transferred PhilHealth funds in deference to the SC and also ask PhilHealth to hold any further remittances.