Utilize existing PhilHealth funds — Go
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, reiterated his strong opposition to increasing the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) subsidy for 2025.
Go argued that it would be “unfair” to allocate more funds to PhilHealth while substantial unutilized reserves remain in the agency’s coffers.
The senator’s position aligns with recent sentiments from Senator JV Ejercito who agreed with Go’s concerns and placed the blame squarely on PhilHealth for its failure to use its existing funds effectively. He suggested that PhilHealth’s inadequate management of case rates and its failure to utilize reserves have created a backlog of healthcare needs.
Earlier, Senate President Francis Escudero also questioned the necessity of additional funds for PhilHealth in the 2025 budget.
Go began his vocal opposition to the mismanagement of PhilHealth funds on 19 July, when he criticized the transfer of excess funds to the National Treasury for other purposes, emphasizing the potential adverse impacts on healthcare services.
On 30 July, during a Senate Health Committee hearing, Go reiterated his disapproval, confronting Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and other officials with the argument that the transfers were “maybe legally but morally wrong.”
This was followed by further legal actions, including the filing of a Supreme Court petition by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel on 2 August, challenging the constitutionality of the fund transfer. Following this, advocacy groups filed their petitions in October, amplifying the issue.
These efforts led to the Supreme Court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order on the transfer of PhilHealth funds in the same month, reflecting the concerns Go had articulated since July.
Go’s opposition to additional subsidies for PhilHealth is rooted in concerns over the agency’s management of its existing resources, which include a significant reserve fund of P500 billion as well as P89.9 billion excess funds that was planned to be transferred to the treasury to be used for other purposes if not for the SC’s TRO.
During a Senate budget plenary deliberations on 7 November, Go criticized certain policies and inefficiencies within PhilHealth that, he believes, prevent the agency from fully utilizing these funds to the benefit of Filipinos.
The senator further argued that PhilHealth’s request for an additional subsidy of P74 billion for 2025 is unjustifiable when substantial reserves are left unspent.
Through his role as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, Go has led four hearings aimed at scrutinizing PhilHealth’s policies. During these hearings, he also addressed various controversial policies that hinder access to healthcare, including the “single period of confinement” policy, which prevented patients from claiming benefits if hospitalized for the same condition within three months. Just last month, this policy was scrapped by PhilHealth.
