Executive Secretary Ralph Recto on Friday said he respect the decision of the Supreme Court ordering the return of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) remittance of unused funds amounting to P60 billion.
“We respect the Supreme Court’s decision ordering the return of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) remittance of unused funds worth PHP60 billion,” said Recto.
“Tulad ng lagi naming sinasabi bago pa man ang desisyon, susunod po ang Ehekutibo sa kautusan ng Korte Suprema, gaya rin ng pagsunod at pagtalima namin sa direktiba ng Kongreso noon na gamitin ang natutulog na pondo ng mga GOCCs para sa kapakanan ng taumbayan.”
Recto said, “We reiterate that the Executive simply complied with the congressional mandate under the 2024 GAA, and that the Department of Finance’s (DOF) role is solely in revenue generation and debt and deficit management. We believed then, and still believe, that the directive was a common-sense approach to optimize government coffers without resorting to additional borrowing or new taxes.”
He said that before any remittance occurred, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), and the Commission on Audit (COA) gave DOF the green light to do so. The PhilHealth board also approved the transfer.
“We also stress that PhilHealth’s ability to deliver services was never impaired by the fund transfer and no member contributions were taken. In fact, the correction led to the agency’s largest expansion of benefit packages in Universal Health Care history, alongside the rollout of Zero Balance Billing to protect Filipino families from rising medical costs,” Recto added.
On 20 September 2025, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. already took proactive steps to restore PhilHealth's PHP 60 billion remittance—a recognition of the agency’s stronger performance, increased absorptive capacity, and expanded benefits.
"Inaasahan namin na lalo pang palalawakin ng PhilHealth ang kanilang mga benepisyo, at sisikapin naming matiyak na sapat ang pondo para sa tunay at pangmatagalang pagbabago," President Marcos said.
Rest assured, the administration of President Marcos, Jr. remains fully committed to maximizing government resources so that no Filipino is ever denied healthcare. Our goal remains the same: to make every hard-earned peso of the Filipino taxpayer count—for our people, for their families, and for their health, said Recto.