House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro strongly denounced the Marcos Jr. administration’s move to transfer P89.9 billion of excess funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to finance unprogrammed plans, including the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund.
“This blatant raid on PhilHealth funds is not only unreasonable but also unjust, especially at a time when our people are struggling with expensive and inaccessible health services amidst a worsening health crisis,” Rep. Castro stated.
The lawmaker emphasized that instead of diverting these funds, the government should prioritize strengthening the public health system. “We demand that these funds be directly allocated to public hospitals and health facilities. This will eliminate bureaucratic and administrative costs while removing the temptation of centralized funds that have repeatedly fallen prey to corruption,” Castro asserted.
Rep. Castro also called for accountability in the face of longstanding issues within PhilHealth. “It’s alarming that PhilHealth has accumulated such a massive surplus while Filipinos continue to shoulder high out-of-pocket health expenses. This warrants a thorough investigation,” she said.
The ACT Teachers representative highlighted the stark contrast between PhilHealth’s budget and that of public hospitals. “In 2023, PhilHealth’s budget allocation of P100 billion far exceeded the P65.5 billion total budget allotment for all DOH public hospitals and facilities in Metro Manila and regions. This disparity has forced public hospitals to charge fees for services, further burdening patients financially,” Castro pointed out.
“We call on the Marcos Jr. administration to reconsider this decision and instead focus on improving our public health care system. Adequate funding should be allotted to public health programs, regular jobs for health workers, and enhancing state-funded health care facilities,” Rep. Castro concluded.
