đź“·Health Alliance for Democracy | Facebook
The defunding of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in the 2025 National Budget as proposed by the Bicameral Committee will not benefit the Filipino people. It will not cure the problems in PhilHealth, and is being used by corrupt officials to cover up their selfish interests in the national budget.
The Bicameral Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives completely removed the P74.432B as proposed in the National Expenditure Program for 2025.
Yet, the budget removed from PhilHealth will not necessarily go to health. In fact, the DOH budget was also slashed by P25.8B from the House-approved P273.7B to P247.92B, a mere P6B increase from the 2024 allotment of P241.6B or a measly 2.6% increase.
The budget allocation for government-owned and controlled corporation hospitals, including the Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and Philippine Heart Center, will see a reduction of P861.705M compared to the 2024 budget, despite receiving an additional P113.5M from the Bicam.
PhilHealth defunding will not result to better health outcomes or “better PhilHealth”. Without any concrete government actions, PhilHealth funds are being raided by corrupt officials, many of whom were never made accountable. Almost yearly irregularities and anomalies in PhilHealth funds, inefficiencies of PhilHealth, high cost of premium contributions and inadequate benefits for members were only exposed but were never really addressed by the government.
Not only do corrupt government officials continually “milk” PhilHealth funds, but the government conveniently passes on to the paying members its primary responsibility of ensuring free health services for the people. Even with PhilHealth, people continue to be burdened by the high cost of health services and high out-of-pocket expenses. The poor Filipino majority suffer from poverty and ill health, made worse by the inaccessibility of quality healthcare services. Inadequate, underfunded, understaffed, underequipped public hospitals and health facilities could not deliver the needed free and quality health services. The health insurance program easily becomes a way to allow and perpetuate the further commercialization and privatization of health care services to the benefit of big private business.
Where did the P74B budget of PhilHealth go?
Aside from DOH, agencies like DSWD, CHED, DA, DOLE, DOTr, and DepEd were slashed by billions of pesos.
The Bicameral Committee increased the budget of different agencies and budget items that are pork-barrel-laden, militarist, and self-serving for the top government officials. Among the top gainers in the Bicameral proposal include: Unprogrammed Appropriations (increased by P373B); Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) (increased by P289B); House of Representatives (increased by P 17.325B), Department of National Defense (increased by P8.9B); and Office of the President (increased by P5.4B, which is a 51.7% increase from House-proposed P10.4B).
The big increases in Unprogrammed Appropriations at the Bicameral Committee levels were the subject of cases filed in the Supreme Court, with allegations of being used as pork barrel funds of officials. Trillions of DPWH funds are allegedly sources of percentages and commissions of corrupt officials down to the district levels. DND is getting bigger budget each year despite reports of military troops’ involvement in numerous unresolved human rights violations in the communities.
The Filipino people clamor for free, comprehensive, quality state-funded national public health services.
In the immediate, direct appropriations should be increased for public hospitals and health facilities nationwide to make them capable of providing quality free health services. At least 5% of GDP should be allotted for health. Adequate, substantially-funded, well-equipped and adequately staffed public hospitals and health centers should be built by the government up to the barrio-levels. There should be adequate number of health personnel in the hospitals and communities. Health workers should be provided with living salaries and wages, adequate benefits, regular jobs and protection.
These, not PhilHealth defunding, will address the people’s ill health. #
