DBM: PhilHealth’s ‘restored’ P60-B excess funds reallocated in insurer’s 2026 budget

The P60 billion in excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which were taken back to the national treasury and eventually restored by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will be reallocated under the state health insurer’s 2026 budget, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Tuesday.

“The DBM is working with Congress and the Executive Branch to ensure that the P60 billion will be reallocated to PhilHealth through the 2026 budget, in line with the President’s directive,” the DBM said in a statement shared by Malacañang.

“This is the clearest and most transparent way to strengthen the National Health Insurance Program and directly benefit Filipinos,” it added.

On September 20, Marcos announced that the P60 billion of PhilHealth’s unused government subsidies, which was ordered to be returned to state coffers, will be restored due to savings mostly from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“A corresponding special provision may also be included under the budget of PhilHealth in the 2026 budget, indicating the nature of the P60 billion and specifying its intended use,” the DBM said.

For next year, the Marcos administration is proposing a P53.3-billion budget for PhilHealth.

Last year, the Department of Finance (DOF) ordered the transfer of PhilHealth's excess funds amounting to P89.9 billion to the Treasury, which were government subsidies that remained unused and not from member contributions. 

Of this amount, P60 billion has already been transferred to state coffers, with only P29.9 billion remaining with PhilHealth before the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on the fund transfer in relation to the petition filed by Senator Koko Pimentel and the Philippine Medical Association, among others.

Last April, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told the Supreme Court that the P60 billion was redirected to the following: 

• P27.45 billion to pay the allowances of COVID-19 frontliners
• P10 billion to the Social Programs for Health to provide medical assistance to poor Filipinos 
• P3.37 billion for the establishment of three DOH facilities
• P4.1 billion to strengthen existing DOH facilities
• P1.6 billion to the Health Facilities Enhancement Program
• P13.00 billion to fund the government counterpart financing for foreign-assisted infrastructure and social determinants for health projects

After a review amid allegations of corruption regarding flood control projects, the DPWH resubmitted a leaner 2026 proposed budget of P625 billion—removing some P255 billion from the original cost of over P881 billion.

The President ordered the DPWH and the DBM to conduct a thorough review of the former's budget, as his administration presses forward with its investigation into the flood control controversy.

Marcos had reiterated that there would be no budget for flood control projects for the fiscal year 2026. –NB, GMA Integrated News