Among the mysteries in the 2025 General Appropriations Act, which recently emerged from the bicameral conference committee, was the removal of the subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., the agency responsible for implementing the Universal Health Care (UHC) law.

PhilHealth has been previously targeted after the Department of Finance attempted to siphon off P89.9 billion, termed as its excess funds, into the National Treasury.

The money would have been used to plug the unprogrammed funds in the national budget if the Supreme Court had not intervened. In an injunction order, the court blocked the transfer of P30 billion.

The 2024 national budget included a provision allowing the DoF to dip into the GAA and sweep up so-called excess funds from state firms, under which PhilHealth was categorized.

There appears to be a deliberate effort to undermine PhilHealth, which has amassed a P600 billion reserve due to its substantial yearly surpluses. Aside from rising mandatory contributions from salary earners, PhilHealth receives about 85 percent of the proceeds from the sin tax and the levy on sugar-sweetened beverages.

Despite its vast reserves, PhilHealth has not adequately utilized its funds to achieve the goals of UHC — making healthcare free for all Filipinos. This situation creates a perfect opportunity for those seeking to manipulate and redirect the budget for political purposes.

The P74 billion subsidy removed from PhilHealth’s 2025 budget contrasts with the P80 billion it received in 2022 and P100.2 billion in 2023.

According to budget watchdogs, the poor are losing out instead of benefiting from UHC due to the mismanagement of PhilHealth by both the government and the agency’s top officials.

Beyond the raid on its funds, the annual budget allocation for PhilHealth’s indirect contributions, which supports indigents identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, 4Ps beneficiaries, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, Sangguniang Kabataan officials and Filipinos aged 21 and older without the capacity to pay premiums, is now compromised.

The government is legally required to secure funding to address the healthcare needs of marginalized populations.

Under the Sin Tax Law, PhilHealth’s share of the collections is earmarked for the premium contributions of indirect contributors, amounting to at least P69.81 billion. However, funding sourced from the agency’s surplus is not supported by law.

Lawmakers, in pulling the plug on PhilHealth’s automatic healthcare benefits, prioritize broad programs providing hospitalization and other medical benefits to the poor through congressional intervention.

By draining UHC funds, the poor are forced to rely on lawmakers’ patronage to access medicines and healthcare services.

If PhilHealth draws from its surplus funds, the agency’s insurance contract liabilities of P1.252 trillion will rise.

To address the yearly raid on the ever-increasing national budget, civic groups suggest making the bicam meeting transparent or allowing civil society organizations to attend sessions.

The bicam, often referred to as the third chamber of Congress, comprises members of the House and the Senate who wield significant power to revise the budget behind closed doors.

This secretive assembly, from which some members emerge visibly shaken as if from an accident, is where contentious horse-trading occurs.

The result of this process is the removal or reduction of crucial budget items agreed upon in the plenary of both chambers, while certain programs and provisions are added without public discussion or debate.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to veto spurious insertions. However, some escape scrutiny and make it into the final budget, serving as a resurrection of the outlawed pork barrel, or nakalusot.