THE Supreme Court yesterday issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the transfer of P89.9 billion in unused funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the National Treasury.
The TRO is “effective immediately,” said SC spokesperson Camille Sue Ting.
The state health insurance agency has remitted P60 billion to the National Treasury — P20 billion in May, P10 billion in August, and P30 billion on October 16. The remaining P29.9 billion is set for transfer next month.
The Department of Finance and PhilHealth said they will comply with the court order.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said, “We give our full cooperation to the Supreme Court as we look forward to the opportunity to shed light on the issues presented during the oral arguments.”
The SC has set the oral arguments for January 14 next year.
PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma said in a brief statement, “We fully respect and will abide by the decision of the Supreme Court on the issue.”
Ledesma said the agency will focus on its mandate to ensure adequate healthcare protection for all Filipinos and continue to improve PhilHealth benefit packages.
Sen Joseph Victor Ejercito, author of the Universal Health Care Act, welcomed the decision and urged the House of Representatives to pass their version of the proposed amendments to the UHC Act before the year ends, including a provision “which reiterates that PhilHealth funds cannot be realigned or transferred for other purposes.”
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III, who led a group of petitioners against the transfer, said, “We welcome that development so that at least the PhilHealth funds will not be dissipated pending the resolution of the case. In my belief those funds are members’ contributions hence should be treated as sacred funds.”
Ting, in a press briefing, said the decision was reached by the magistrates during their en banc session yesterday.
“The Court issued a temporary restraining order to enjoin the further transfer of PhilHealth funds to the national treasury,” she said.
The court also consolidated three petitions challenging the constitutionality of the transfer of PhilHealth’s unused funds to fund unprogrammed appropriations.
The first petition assailing the transfer was filed by a Pimentel’s group, followed by Bayan Muna. The third petition was filed early this month by a group led by retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.
Recto has defended the transfer, saying it is only doing what Congress has empowered it to do. He also assured the public that taking back PhilHealth’s unused funds would not affect its ability to provide services.
Carpio and Bayan Muna welcomed the temporary injunction.
“We, the petitioners, thank the Supreme Court for the issuance of the TRO. This
saves the poorest of the poor of Filipinos, numbering tens of millions, whose only source of life-saving medicine is the PhilHealth,” Carpio said in a brief statement, adding he hopes that Malacañang will return all the transferred funds back to PhilHealth pending the final decision of the SC.
Former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said the injunction is a significant victory for the Filipino people, especially for PhilHealth beneficiaries who rely on the said funds for their healthcare needs.
“The transfer of these funds would have jeopardized the benefits of countless Filipinos relying on PhilHealth for essential health services. This decision prevents a grave injustice from occurring,” Colmenares said.
Despite the SC ruling, Colmenares still emphasized the importance of protecting public funds intended for health care from being reallocated.
“The attempt to siphon off funds from PhilHealth, and potentially from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, would not only violate constitutional principles but also put at risk the financial security of depositors and the health of our nation,” he added.
MANDATE
Recto, in a statement yesterday, said, “We respect the Supreme Court’s intervention. As a public servant myself, I recognize the right of every citizen to seek redress from the courts. Rest assured that the DOF will fully comply with the order of the Supreme Court.”
Recto reiterated the DOF’s move to sweep the unused excess funds of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) is a mandate under Republic Act No. 11975 or the General Appropriations Act 2024, which was approved by Congress.
“We reiterate that before proceeding with the utilization of GOCC idle funds, our agency exercised due diligence and consulted extensively with the government’s legal experts. These include the Governance Commission for GOCCs, the Government Corporate Counsel and the Commission on Audit. These efforts were undertaken to ensure full compliance with our laws,” he said.
The DOF received favorable legal opinions on the matter that PhilHealth’s unutilized government subsidies are not part of its reserve funds, or income that is being restricted by the Universal Health Care Act to be used by the national government as a general fund.
Programs and projects funded by unused government subsidies to PhilHealth include health workers’ unpaid allowances during the pandemic, Salary Standardization VI for government employees released this year, revised Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program, Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project, Philippine Rural Development Project, Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project, and various big-ticket infrastructure projects under the Build Better More program. – With Angela Celis, Gerard Naval, and Raymond Africa