Senator Loren Legarda pushed for more funds for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. during the bicameral conference committee on the disagreeing provisions of the proposed 2026 national budget.
Republic Act No. 19351, or the Sin Tax Reform Act, directs most incremental revenues from alcohol and tobacco taxes to the health sector, specifically the 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.
“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 a P53 billion from the sin tax allocation for PhilHealth," Legarda noted.
"However, let me please put it on record that the P53 billion is an incomplete NEP proposal. I appeal to the Bicam to put what is rightfully belonging to health,” she added.
The senator said that for several years, the sin tax allocation had not funded the PhilHealth according to the 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 were not funded, including the NEP of P53 billion," Legarda pointed out.
"We also take note that the 2025 GAA did not have the sin tax allocation, which miraculously disappeared in the GAA. We, both Houses of Congress, owe that to the Filipino people,” Legarda added.