President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should fire Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa for “dereliction of duty” in the financing of the public health system, universal health care (UHC) law advocate Dr. Anthony Leachon said on Wednesday.

On DAILY TRIBUNE’s weekly online program Straight Talk, Leachon said the lapses in leadership of the two have left Filipinos shouldering the rising healthcare costs while public funds intended for health services remained the subject of policy disputes amid questions of accountability.

“President Marcos should fire Secretary Recto and Secretary Herbosa because there was a dereliction of duty. If there is no accountability, what then?” Leachon said in Filipino.

On 15 January, Leachon and a coalition of doctors, lawyers and PhilHealth members under the Save the Philippines Coalition filed a landmark complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Recto for technical malversation, graft, plunder and grave misconduct, centered on the transfer of P60 billion in PhilHealth subsidies and excess funds to the national treasury in 2024.

“If President Marcos does not think the two are a big burden on the Cabinet, then I’m sorry for the Filipino people because we will be suffering the next two years because of them,” Leachon said.

He said Recto, then the finance secretary, had played a central role in policies that enabled the reclassification and siphoning off of PhilHealth reserve funds.

The Department of Finance under Recto had ordered PhilHealth to remit P89.9 billion in unused reserve funds to the National Treasury to finance unprogrammed appropriations.

The Supreme Court later intervened, ordering the return of the P60 billion already transferred and halting the transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion, after ruling that the policy violated the Constitution and the Universal Health Care Act.

Obvious policy flaws

Following the decision, the P60 billion was restored to PhilHealth. Despite this, Leachon argued that the episode exposed serious policy lapses among key officials, particularly in the interpretation and handling of public health funds.

He also criticized Health Secretary Herbosa, questioning his acceptance of the characterization of PhilHealth resources as “excess funds” despite the persistent overcrowding in public hospitals and continuing gaps in healthcare delivery.

“The secretary of health is from the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). How can he say it was excess funds? He came from there,” Leachon said.

He cited the long patient queues in government hospitals, the limited access to medical services, and the continued workforce migration in the health sector as signs of a systemic strain.

“Look at PGH, look at the hospitals around the Department of Health, San Lazaro and RITM. Look at the line of guarantee letters. Why are the doctors leaving? If our funds are in excess, why are we wasting money?” he said.

Leachon described the current state of the health system as critically weak despite reforms under the Universal Healthcare Act.

“Our healthcare system is actually dying or moribund,” he said. “The patient is in the ICU and about to die. Our universal healthcare is a farce.”

Leachon said Filipinos continue to shoulder around 60 percent of healthcare costs out of pocket, leaving many families vulnerable to financial ruin during medical emergencies.

He also maintained that government subsidies for PhilHealth were not fully provided in 2024 and 2025, further straining the system.

Leachon said the consequences of weak fiscal and health leadership directly affect patients, arguing that the funds could have strengthened the benefits for those suffering from cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and other critical illnesses.

He also questioned the allocation of health-related resources to infrastructure projects, saying it reflected misplaced priorities in public finance management.

“You’re going to get the money from PhilHealth to put into the flood control project? What kind of fiscal space and thinking process is that?” he said.

Leachon said he is preparing to file legal charges against officials linked to the controversy, including former PhilHealth president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., as he stressed the need for accountability in government.