The Department of Finance (DoF) has defended the government’s move of redirecting excess PhilHealth funds to critical health and social programs — asserting that the policy is legal, economically sound, and a moral imperative.

“With PhilHealth’s remittance, we raised more funds without raising taxes and adding more borrowings that the next generation will inherit. We protected the people without punishing them,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said before the Supreme Court.

Recto assured that the P60 billion taken from PhilHealth went directly to health programs.

“The P60 billion that was returned didn’t vanish — it paid frontliners, built hospitals, and gave the poor access to medicine. Every centavo remitted was converted to service. That is fiscal justice,” he said.

Of the amount, P27.45 billion was allocated to Covid-19 frontliners’ health emergency allowances, while P10 billion went to medical aid for indigent patients.

Other allocations included P4.1 billion for medical equipment, P3.37 billion for DoH health facilities, and P1.69 billion for health infrastructure projects.

Recto refuted claims that PhilHealth is bankrupt, stating that it has nearly P500 billion in cash reserves. He attributed the confusion to the agency’s Insurance Contract Liabilities, which were flagged as inaccurate by state auditors.

Despite the P60-billion remittance, PhilHealth still has P498 billion in cash, enough to sustain benefit packages for the next two years.

Recto reiterated that the policy is legal and backed by the Office of the Solicitor General, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel and the Commission on Audit.

He also dismissed concerns that it undermines the right to health, arguing that real healthcare service delivery is more important than idle funds.