TUCP solon: SC order on P60-B PhilHealth funds a 'wake up call' for universal healthcare

The Supreme Court (SC)’s recent decision that ordered the return of P60 billion to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is a wake-up call for the government to urgently deliver genuine universal healthcare, House Deputy Speaker and TUCP Rep. Party-list Raymond Democrito Mendoza said on Sunday.

In a statement, Mendoza welcomed the High Court’s landmark ruling that directed the government to return the state health insurer’s excess funds through the 2026 national budget.

“The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that workers have every right to demand transparent, efficient, and wise use of their hard-earned contributions,” he said.

Mendoza stressed that it is the “hard-earned contributions of the working class that sustain Philhealth.”

He also called for the appointment of a legitimate workers’ representative to the PhilHealth board “to ensure that the genuine interests of those whose hard-earned money funds PhilHealth are truly represented.”

The TUCP solon said the government, especially the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of Health (DOH), should no longer “find ways and means to divert workers’ contributions treated as mere dormant excessive reserves.”

“Instead, we must all fight tooth and nail to spend these tens of billions where they originally belong: strengthening hospitals, expanding coverage, lowering out-of-pocket costs, and delivering proactive and preventive healthcare,” Mendoza said.

He pointed out that for many Filipino workers and their families, “getting sick is so expensive that it has become a personal, emotional, and financial disaster.”

“How much have ordinary workers already contributed to PhilHealth throughout their entire working lives? And how much more will generations of Filipino working families be required to pay for their premium contributions?” he added.

The SC’s recent ruling voided, among others, the DOF’s circular that directed the transfer of P89.9 billion excess funds from the state health insurer to the national treasury to the national treasury in 2024.

Last year, PhilHealth already remitted P60 billion before the SC issued a temporary restraining order to halt the transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion.

The High Court’s ruling ordered Congress, the DOF, and the Executive Secretary to include the P60 billion as a specific item in the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to be returned to PhilHealth. It also barred the respondents from implementing the transfer of Philhealth’s P29.9 billion to the national treasury. — JMA, GMA Integrated News