Senators on Tuesday, October 29 lauded the Supreme Court for issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the transfer of P89.9-billion funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the National Treasury.

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, thanked the SC for heeding public calls to temporarily stop “the illegal and immoral transfer” of health funds from PhilHealth to finance projects unrelated to the health and wellness of the people.

“This is one big win for the Filipino people!  Sulit ang ating pangungulit!” Go said, reiterating that the funds should be used for health purposes.

But the issuance of this TRO today, Go said, does not end his crusade.

“In fact, this will give us more resolve and more determination to fight for the fundamental right to health of every Filipino, especially the poor and the helpless, so that we may bring some hope for the hopeless and voice to the voiceless,” Go stressed.

According to Go, he will continue to advocate for PhilHealth to increase its case rates, expand its benefit packages and to lower members’ premium contribution.

Go also said he will continue to push that the state health insurance agency improve its emergency and preventive care services, and provide dental and visual care, free medicines, assistive devices and other medical needs for the poor.

The senator said it is also imperative for PhilHealth to fix its outdated policies, aside from the 24-hour hospital confinement rule and single period confinement policy.
 

“As the author and champion of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, I strongly believe that healthcare funds must be used directly for the benefit of PhilHealth members, which include essentially every Filipino,” Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, for his part, said.

Ejercito said it is unacceptable that there is such a large amount of funds that PhilHealth is not utilizing while many of its members continue to struggle with their hospital expenses.

“PhilHealth owes the Filipino people an explanation for this underspending and for wasting this opportunity, especially when these funds could have been used to expand health benefits, reduce premiums, and support those who need it most—ang mga indigent, senior citizens, at persons with disabilities (PWDs),” he  added.

With this development, Ejercito said its imperative for the Congress to expedite the passage into law of the proposed amendments to the UHC Act.

“This TRO is a critical step forward, but we cannot stop here. I urge our counterparts in the House of Representatives to prioritize and pass their version of the proposed amendments to the UHC Act before the year ends,” he said.

Included in the said UHC Amendments bill is a provision which reiterates that Philhealth funds cannot be realigned or transferred for other purposes.

“We’re confident that this will pave the way for urgent reforms in funding and ensure that every Filipino will have access to the health services they need without delay,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, one of the individuals who filed the petition at the SC, also welcomed the latest development.

“We welcome that development so that at least the PhilHealth funds will not be dissipated pending the resolution of the case,” Pimentel said.

“In my belief, those funds are members’ contributions, hence, should be treated as ‘sacred funds’,” he pointed out.

Pimentel also said it is a good idea to guard the wordings on the mechanisms on policies which allow the tapping of unprogrammed funds.