Senator Loren Legarda pushed for more funds for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) during the Bicameral Conference Committee meeting on the disagreeing provisions of the proposed 2026 national budget.

Republic Act 19351, or the Sin Tax Reform Act, allocates most of the incremental revenues from alcohol and tobacco taxes to the health sector, specifically to Department of Health programs and PhilHealth premiums to cover vulnerable Filipinos.

However, portions of the earmarked funds have been withheld or underfunded in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), resulting in deficits for PhilHealth’s universal health care program.

“We are grateful to the House for indicating in the (House General Appropriations Bill) the P60 billion which rightfully belongs to PhilHealth. We also take note that in the National Expenditure Program (NEP), there’s P53 billion from the sin tax allocation for PhilHealth,” Legarda said.

Unfinished proposal

“However, let me put it on record that the P53 billion is an incomplete NEP proposal. I appeal to the bicam to put in what rightfully belongs to health,” she added.

The senator said that for several years, the sin tax allocation had not been used to fund PhilHealth, as required by law.

What the law provides must be followed, Legarda emphasized.

“There is something terribly wrong here. Let me just put on record that there is a P236.91-billion fund missing, which should go to public health, and this would include the multi-year earmarking of the sin tax, which was not funded, including the NEP of P53 billion,” she pointed out.