Shameless, Sec. Ralph!

It simply is, the Great Health Fund Robbery.

Ralph Recto as a senator and a congressman was a politician I respected. He seems to have his heart in the right place, looking after the good of the Filipino people. His positions on public issues always seem to put top priority to the public interest, even if he goes against the grain of what other politicians want. Ralph can dissect an issue and clearly explain what it means and how it will positively or negatively affect the general public.

Sen. or Cong. Ralph normally makes sense, provides good background information and responds quickly if I ask for clarifications. I thought he would be a good Finance Secretary because he understands the technical and political sides of money issues and has a sense for the public interest.

Was I wrong? Seems like. I was disappointed when I read his press release trying to justify the Great Health Fund Robbery by the BBM administration. The Senator or Congressman Recto will not hide how Congress literally robbed the Filipinos of scarce health funds so pork barrel wish lists can be funded. I am not making this up… it was admitted at the Senate floor when Sen. Koko Pimentel questioned Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the senate finance committee, on what seemed like acts of magic with the appropriations bill.

From Malacanang’s original proposal of P281.9 billion, Pimentel asked why the unprogrammed funds jumped to P731.4 billion after the bicameral conference committee meetings on the P5.768-trillion General Appropriation Bill for 2024. This, he said, resulted in a P450-billion increase in the unprogrammed funds.

Sen. Angara: “Yes, the gentleman is correct as to the figure and the reason is to carve out fiscal space in the programmed appropriations for other items that are proposed by our colleagues, both here and in the house, your honor,” he explained.

Translating this legislative gobbledygook, they did what they did to fund pork barrel fund proposals of senators and congressmen. Why was this necessary to do? So, pork funds get priority being disbursed.

Pimentel then sought to clarify if the P450-billion increase in the unprogrammed funds was transferred from the programmed funds. Angara again confirmed this.

Sec. Recto’s press release identified some of the appropriations transferred to unprogrammed funds and it included funding our counterpart funds for foreign assisted projects. “Some of these are ongoing Foreign-Assisted Projects (FAPs), such as the Metro Manila Subway Project, the North-South Commuter Railway System and the PNR South Long-Haul Project, among other big-ticket infrastructure projects.”

I guess they figure it is easier to justify the GOCC “excess” fund sweep including PhilHealth’s by citing this obligation to complete vitally needed projects…which should have been in the programmed part to begin with because it is an international obligation.

“Unprogrammed appropriations” is another name for standby budgets whose funds are to be sourced from excess or new revenues. We haven’t had excess or new revenues for a while but those transferred from programmed are “must” obligations. So, they expanded their fund source to include “excess” GOCC funds. Many GOCCs are unable to do their mandates and end up with excess funds like PhilHealth. Between giving patients facing enormous hospital bills adequate help and satisfying pork barrel requests from senators and congressmen, Sec. Ralph has turned his back on the ordinary Pinoy and chose pork.

It is shameless that our government is not able to provide enough funds for PGH so that its interns, residents and other doctors end up giving their own money for patients to buy their prescriptions.

Our government claims we have universal healthcare. The reality is, it is far from universal. Most health expenses are paid out-of-pocket by patients in our for-profit healthcare system. A hospital admission for any reason can easily result in a million-peso bill. And if you get a stroke, a heart attack or cancer, two to three million pesos can only get your treatment started. BBM announced an increase in cancer patient assistance. That’s good news but where will PhilHealth get extra funds now?

In general, PhilHealth is practically absent in the lives of Filipinos except for the monthly premiums we are obligated to pay. PhilHealth claims it never has enough funds to deliver significant support to patients, whether in dire need or not. Yet, anomalies are often revealed in the handling of PhilHealth funds.

As for the so-called excess funds, it only shows PhilHealth failed to live up to its mandate even with available funds to do so. So, the public is being screwed twice: failure to get help financing a healthcare need and now the excess fund arising from this failure is being moved to fund the pork barrel requests of politicians.

Sec. Ralph also tried to justify the transfer by saying it will be used to pay what the government owes healthcare workers for their pandemic services. Funding for that should come from somewhere else because PhilHealth funds belong to its members, even the funds the government contributes to support assistance to non-member indigent patients.

Then DOF says the P90 billion they are clawing back is the unused portion of the subsidy through GAA for non-members and won’t affect benefits to members and non-members. That’s intellectual dishonesty. How will that not affect benefits when there will be less funds available? That GAA subsidy is really the equivalent of premium payments to cover needs of indigent non-members.

Hay naku, Sec Ralph… There is no way you can justify this Great Health Fund Robbery. Just turn around and take the side of the people like you used to. Besides, were you not a member of the Congresses that passed laws preventing use of PhilHealth funds for purposes other than providing healthcare?

I think I miss the old Ralph Recto. I can’t imagine how a high position can change a man.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco.