Recto urged to recall directive on PhilHealth funds

MANILA, Philippines — Finance Secretary Ralph Recto should rescind his directive for the state health insurer to transfer excess funds to the national coffers, according to a group including retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio.

“Unused” funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) are being remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury to finance unprogrammed appropriations including the congressional pork barrel this year.

In an Aug. 22 letter, Carpio and lawyer Howard Calleja – convenors of multisectoral group 1Sambayan – urged Recto to review the transfer of PhilHealth funds, saying this violates the Constitution on two grounds.

“First, in the Executive Branch, only the President can be authorized by law to transfer savings from one item to another in the appropriations for the Executive Branch under the GAA (General Appropriations Act),” the letter read.

Carpio and Calleja explained that the delegation of power to the finance secretary to transfer savings, from government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to the Treasury, is unconstitutional, as it is an undue delegation of constitutional power that belongs exclusively to the President.

“Second, the two transfers of idle or unused funds to date from PhilHealth result in technical malversation of public funds and constitute the crime of plunder,” they noted.

PhilHealth’s funds are special funds raised through taxation for a specific purpose, which is the universal health of Filipinos, they maintained.

If Recto fails to recall the funds, Carpio and Calleja said they will be constrained to challenge the transfer.

Last week, former senator Panfilo Lacson also questioned the transfer of PhilHealth’s excess funds to finance unprogrammed appropriations.

The PhilHealth Law and the Universal Health Care Act are special laws that outline how excess funds from the state insurer can be used, he said during an interview with “Storycon” on One News on Aug. 23.

“From that alone, you know that it is not allowed. It’s illegal, unconstitutional,” he asserted.

It will be up to the Supreme Court to decide on the matter, Lacson said.

Advocates led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III earlier filed a petition before the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional the GAA provision and the Department of Finance (DOF) circular that operationalized it.

Among the petitioners was former finance undersecretary Cielo Magno, who stressed that “rider provisions” – or provisions inconsistent with the law’s primary purpose – are prohibited in legislation.

The government insisted that the excess funds, estimated to be around P89.9 billion, came from subsidies and not premiums paid by members.

Lacson said members’ contributions are co-mingled with subsidies from the government.

“They said they need to realign the funds because there are excess funds. But if there are excess funds, why did they increase the premium to five percent?” Lacson pointed out.

He noted that PhilHealth’s performance, such as the extent of coverage provided to members, is far from the targets set in the Universal Health Care Act.

Of the P89.9-billion excess funds, P20 billion was remitted in May to pay the emergency allowances of health care workers. Another P10 billion was transferred on Aug. 21.

Another P30 billion will be transferred in October and the remaining P29.9 billion is scheduled in November.

DOF defends transfer anew

Using the “sleeping funds” of GOCCs such as PhilHealth would prevent the country from acquiring more loans that will eventually be paid by Filipinos through tax increases, DOF Director Euvimil Nina Asuncion said yesterday.

“If we use these funds, we are looking at 0.7 percent GDP (gross domestic product) growth. Our economy will grow. This means we have more jobs for our people,” she said — Helen Flores, Rhodina Villanueva