Palace vows to abide by SC on PhilHealth funds

Malacañang on Wednesday vowed to abide by the order that will be imposed by the Supreme Court as regards the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) budget.

''Kung ano po ang ipag-uutos ng Supreme Court, iyan po ay susundin natin. Hindi po natin tututulan, hindi po natin lalabanan kung ano po ang inuutos ng Supreme Court,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said at a press briefing.

(We will follow the order of the Supreme Court. We will not challenge it.)

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Kho earlier said it may be time to overhaul the board of the state insurer over the utilization of its budget.

“Probably, it’s time to overhaul PhilHealth and change the board for not complying with what the law requires,” Kho said Tuesday during the oral arguments on petitions seeking to block the transfer of PhilHealth’s excess funds to the national treasury.

He said if there is an issue with the utilization of funds on the part of PhilHealth, the government must order the agency to raise its benefits and hire people in order to fully utilize its funds.

Kho also said the administration should return the money to PhilHealth.

Last year, PhilHealth remitted P60 billion to the National Treasury while the SC issued a temporary restraining order halting the transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion.