PARTY-LIST group Akbayan called on the national government to return a transferred portion of the P89.9 billion in unspent funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to “bolster” health care services and that it should be used to improve services to senior citizens, persons with disabilities and indigent Filipinos.
Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, who serves as Akbayan’s first nominee in the upcoming party-list election, made the call before the third tranche of fund transfers to the national treasury could be done next month.
“Although it is important to fund various government projects, this transfer should not be done at the expense of weakening PhilHealth’s capacity in meeting the needs of its contributors,” Diokno said in a statement in Filipino.
He added that public health should not be compromised for “other projects” and that the funds of PhilHealth should be used to reduce fees for its contributors.
Citing the Universal Health Care Act’s implementing rules and regulations, Diokno said PhilHealth’s reserve funds cannot be transferred to the national government or its agencies.
“These funds must remain dedicated to improving health outcomes and strengthening public health care,” he said.
Akbayan said redirecting the money would “undermine” PhilHealth’s capacity to fulfill its mandate of providing better health service to Filipinos.
Motion to intervene
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted the motion to intervene from two labor groups in a petition they filed questioning the transfer of P89.9 billion in unspent funds of PhilHealth to the national treasury.
The high court’s granting of the petitioners, led by Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Sonny Matula, was done on October 8 but was received by the intervenors on Tuesday.
Matula’s petition questioned the legality and constitutionality of the fund transfer, which undermines PhilHealth’s financial integrity and such a move would threaten their abilities to provide health care services.
FFW and the Nagkaisa labor coalition sought to intervene in the case so that workers’ concerns are addressed during the legal proceedings.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the intervention marks a significant step forward in the ongoing efforts to protect public health care funds and ensure accountability and transparency in their management,” the labor groups stated on Tuesday.
Apart from the labor groups’ petition, the high court also granted the petitions of Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III and Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares, which also questioned the transfer of PhilHealth funds, based on the high court’s en banc resolution.
Be the first to comment