PhilHealth fund transfer legal, says SolGen

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) defended before the Supreme Court the transfer of P60 billion in unutilized Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) funds to the Bureau of Treasury, arguing it was a legal and necessary move to finance priority government projects without increasing debt or taxes.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra told the High Court that Congress authorized the transfer through Special Provision 1D of the 2024 General Appropriations Act.  The provision directs government-owned and controlled corporations to review and reduce reserve funds to reasonable levels to fund unprogrammed appropriations.

“Congress, in its wisdom, identified the fund balance of government corporations as a source of additional funds to finance the unprogrammed appropriations. The Department of Finance, in issuing Circular 003-2024, merely implemented this Congressional directive,” said Guevarra.

He also stressed the need for responsible resource allocation, citing the country’s P15.8 trillion national debt as of the end of February 2024 and noted that this translates to P139,000 in debt for every Filipino.

Instead of borrowing more, the government chose to redirect unutilized funds, ensuring their legal use for public benefit, he said.

The Solicitor General also pointed out that PhilHealth’s fund balance of P89.9 billion in unused government subsidies from 2021 to 2023 exceeded the total benefit claims of indirect contributors during the same period.  He argued the transfer did not affect PhilHealth’s ability to cover claims and supported additional health-related programs.

“Indeed, our government will not be acting with common sense if it shelved other much-needed projects because one pocket is short on funds while knowing fully that there is abundance in the other,” said Guevarra.