The misuse of the funds that should have been applied strictly to Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) programs was established during the final day of oral arguments before the Supreme Court (SC) on the diversion of excess funds of state firms to the national treasury.

The bottom line is the need to return the pilfered amounts, and it is likely that the principle of operative fact, which would free the government and its officials from accountability, will be applied in this case.

The doctrine nullifies the effects of an unconstitutional law or an executive act by recognizing that the existence of a statute before a determination of unconstitutionality is an operative fact that may have consequences that cannot be ignored.

It was clear as day that Congress, in collusion with the Executive branch, sought to resurrect the outlawed pork barrel system through the unprogrammed allocations (UA) in the national budget.

In the 2014 decision of the High Court declaring the creation by the Executive of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional, the operative fact doctrine saved the skin of those who benefited from the supposed stimulus fund.

Based on the statements of the SC justices, the government must return the misplaced PhilHealth funds.

Associate Justice Antonio Kho Jr. argued that PhilHealth is to blame for not effectively using its funds to expand healthcare programs. It was not the fault of the PhilHealth members or the impoverished Filipinos who rely on its insurance benefits that the subsidies were not spent over the years.

The government should have instructed PhilHealth to spend the funds for their intended purpose, but the Department of Finance (DoF) instead redirected them elsewhere.

“You collected it and gave it to others,” the magistrate censured the DoF, suggesting a misappropriation of resources.

Kho was referring to the DoF tapping into PhilHealth’s reserve funds, a move that has sparked criticism and was the subject of the SC scrutiny.

In the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), a special provision was inserted allowing the government to tap into the “excess funds” of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

The money would fund the ballooning unprogrammed allocations in the budget for projects without specific funding sources.

The UA had bloated to unprecedented levels since these items made room for members of Congress’ pet projects to be incorporated into the 2024 budget and beyond.

The reallocation of the PhilHealth funds raised red flags among the petitioners who argued that it violated the Universal Healthcare Act (Republic Act 11223).

The law mandates that PhilHealth funds be used exclusively for healthcare programs and benefits, ensuring universal access to quality medical services.

Siphoning off these reserves for unrelated purposes undermines the revolutionary health measure.

In the earlier proceedings at the High Tribunal, Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier described PhilHealth’s reserve funds as “sacred” and not discretionary slush funds that the government could dip into at will.

The SC justice said the funds were earmarked for a vital public good: healthcare.

The common question that bothered the magistrates was: If PhilHealth had been sitting on unspent reserves, why hadn’t it expanded its programs to meet the healthcare needs of Filipinos?

With the agency’s blatant inefficiency, PhilHealth should have been compelled to act rather than have its funds confiscated.

The Supreme Court deliberations were an eye-opener on fiscal manipulation, which has become a common practice among members of Congress and the Executive branch.

The sweeping up of excess funds — P60 billion from PhilHealth and a bigger P107 billion from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) — was the result of horse-trading among the members of the bicameral conference committee and the government’s economic officials.

When dealing with members starved of pork barrel funds during an election period, manipulation is inevitable.

The magistrates pointed to failures in both PhilHealth’s inaction and the DoF’s opportunism, which left the public caught in the middle.