Bayan Muna urges SC to rule on petitions vs transfer of Philhealth funds

Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares and two former Bayan Muna solons on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court (SC) to resolve petitions challenging the transfer of P89.9 billion in excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to the national treasury, underscoring the need for massive reforms in the budgetary process.

In an eight-page motion, Colmenares and former Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Isagani Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite stressed the importance of “systemic reforms to make the budgetary process transparent, accountable, and participatory.”

“Petitioners ask this Honorable Court to wield its constitutionally guaranteed powers to strike down grave abuse of discretion and contribute to the systematic reforms required to cut the ugly head of corruption in the country,” the motion to resolve stated.

It may be recalled that Bayan Muna, Philippine Medical Association, and 1SAMBAYAN Coalition asked the SC to block the transfer of PhilHealth’s excess funds amounting to P89.9 billion back to the national treasury.

In April, the High Court concluded the oral arguments of the groups’ petitions after a five-day interpellation.

In September, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said P60 billion in excess Philhealth funds that were previously transferred to the national treasury will now be returned to the state health insurer.

Marcos said there were savings from the Department of Public Works and Highways, which had its proposed budget for flood control projects in 2026 removed.

However, the Bayan Muna petitioners said the issue over Philhealth’s excess funds must be decided on by the SC and cannot just be resolved by simply returning the funds.

They said the issues raised in the petitions are “not rendered moot by virtue of this promised return.”

This is because the “unconstitutional and illegal acts questioned in the petitions could very well be repeated in the 2025 GAA (General Appropriations Act) if no resolution nor constitutional guidelines will be issued by this Honorable Court.”

“The decision in these consolidated petitions can also be the source of guidance in the passage of the 2026 GAA and future GAAs, to reform and overhaul a non-transparent and unaccountable budget process” that enabled the siphoning of Philhealth’s funds and allocations for flood control and infrastructure projects, they said.

Bayan Muna also appealed to the SC to issue constitutional guidelines for three major pillars of the budget process.

These are: the presidential certification of urgency in the national budget; the further amendment of a bill that was already passed on third reading; and the convening of the Bicameral Conference Committee that has the power to insert provisions and projects in the budget.

The petitioners said the certification of urgency makes the General Appropriation Bill prone to insertions of anomalous items such as flood control projects, especially since members of Congress do not have a copy of the bill they are approving on third reading.

They added that a member of Congress cannot just bypass the constitutionally mandated legislative process by inserting new items during the Bicameral Conference Committee meeting.

They further asked the SC to provide constitutional guidelines in the exercise of the BiCam’s power to insert provisions and projects and required its meeting to be transparent, accessible, and accountable.

“Even if public outrage deters such abuses for the 2026 GAA, the absence of defined parameters invites similar tactics in future GAAs once the attention and anger of the public subside,” the motion to resolve added.

Last week, Marcos said the Bicameral Conference Committee meeting for the national budget would be livestreamed after he discussed the matter with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III.

“To further encourage transparency, I intend to livestream the bicam. So, that's what I told them already. There is no small committee,” Marcos said.

The House of Representatives has already approved on third and final reading its version of the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026, with realignments that increased allocations to the education sector to P1.28 trillion. — JMA, GMA Integrated News