The House of Representatives has already carried out the constitutional remedy to return the P60 billion to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) by restoring the funds through the 2026 National Budget during the passage of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
This was emphasized by House Committee on Appropriations vice chairperson and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong on Sunday, saying the amount has already been reinstated regardless of the outcome of the case pending before the Supreme Court.
“The House has already complied, following the President’s order, and regardless of the result of cases pending before the High Court,” Adiong said.
The lawmaker issued the statement after Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David suggested that President Marcos and Congress should not “simply backfill” the P60 billion ordered returned to PhilHealth by the SC, but instead recover the money from individuals who allegedly profited from the fund diversion.
According to Adiong, Congress followed the same mechanism used when the questioned funds were first released.
"If there is a process for getting [the money], there is a process for returning it. And that is through the national budget. The mechanism for returning the money is the same as the mechanism in getting it," Adiong said in Filipino.
Under the National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacañang, PhilHealth was originally allotted P53 billion for 2026. Following the President’s instruction, the House added the full P60 billion — raising next year’s allocation for PhilHealth to P113 billion.
Adiong stressed that while accountability proceedings may continue as a separate legal process, the constitutional requirement to refund PhilHealth has already been completed.
“The House has done what the law requires. We followed the President’s directive, we followed the Constitution, and we returned the P60 billion through the national budget,” Adiong said.