A Supreme Court justice said earlier this week that excess Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) funds worth P89.9 billion should be “exclusively used” for its programs and not diverted to unrelated purposes.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier made the remarks during the continuation of oral arguments on the petition to block the transfer of the 89.9-billion peso PhilHealth funds to the National Treasury,
In the hearing, Lazaro-Javier sought to understand why the government considered it necessary to reallocate the funds of the state health insurer to projects that were already funded by the budget, as well as those with predictable expenses, such as infrastructure, the peace process, and the military’s modernization program.
The justice cited the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Island Bridges Project, which she said appeared to be fully funded by the Export-Import Bank of Korea to the tune of ₱174 billion and received additional funding in 2022 and 2023.
Lazaro-Javier also cited the Department of Finance (DOF), which stated that the funds to be transferred to the national treasury were meant to support “urgent” national projects.
“Reserve funds, as it is named, [are] reserved and cannot be subject to the discretion of PhilHealth to be used for another purpose,” Lazaro-Javier said.
“Per (the Department of Budget and Management’s) Budget of Expenditures and Source of Financing FY 2024 report, the PGN Bridges project appears to be fully funded by the Export-Import Bank of Korea in the amount of P174.49 billion. Is there an urgency to transfer the PhilHealth funds when the project is fully funded?” Lazaro-Javier asked Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, who spoke on behalf of the respondents, the House of Representatives, and the Senate.
Guevarra said that they would look into the said projects.
The Solicitor General explained that the rush to transfer PhilHealth’s funds is due to the many projects under unprogrammed appropriations.
“Well, there is nothing to spend for if the project has not even started,” Guevarra said.
“So where is the money?” Lazaro-Javier asked.
The associate justice also pointed out that while the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) had already allocated a P459 million budget to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity for overseeing a comprehensive peace process, an additional P688 million was included under unprogrammed appropriations for the same purpose
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) declined to speculate on why lawmakers placed the project under unprogrammed funds.
The OSG further contended that the inclusion of such projects in the unprogrammed appropriations was merely a list, and the actual utilization of funds would still depend on the implementing agencies.
However, Lazaro-Javier noted that because of this list, PhilHealth’s reserve funds had already been transferred to the national treasury.
When pressed on whether the transfer was valid or constitutional, Guevarra maintained that the issue fell within Congress’s discretion. (TCSP)
