The Supreme Court (SC) was asked on Friday, Aug. 2, to declare unconstitutional a provision on "unprogrammed appropriations (UA)" in the 2024 national budget diverting the P89.9 billion reserve funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the national government.

In a petition, the SC was told that “the pilfering of the reserve funds is a grave disservice to the Filipino people who depend on PhilHealth for financial risk protection from illness and who are still heavily burdened by out-of-pocket health expenditure.”

It said that “with consistently rising inflation and worsening social conditions, it is imperative that these funds be used exclusively for the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, the expansion of benefit packages, and the reduction of premium contributions.”

The petitioners were led by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III;  Ernesto Ofracio, Junice Lirza D. Melgar, Cielo Magno, Ma. Dominga Cecilia B. Padilla, Dante B. Gatmaytan, Ibarra Gutierrez; Sentro ng Mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Inc.; Public Services Labor Independent Confederation Foundation, Inc.; and Philippine Medical Association.  They said they represent both the direct and indirect PhilHealth contributors.

They claimed the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) on UA is unconstitutional for being a rider that exceeds Congress’ power to appropriate funds under the Constitution.

"Despite Congress being vested with the powers of appropriation, the Constitution demands that the expenditure of these funds have distinct ‘items,’ qualifications, limitations, or conditions to which they are subject. The provision fails to meet these criteria, making it unconstitutional," they also told the SC.

They pointed out that in diverting the funds to the unappropriated programs of the national budget, Congress gave the Executive Branch the discretion to decide how to spend funds which have been earmarked specifically for the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act. 

They cited SC decisions which declared that any provision in a general appropriations bill which intends to repeal or amend other laws is unconstitutional.

The petitioners also cited that a Department of Finance circular on the issue violates Article VI Section 29 (3) of the Constitution which states: “All money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purpose only.”

They also said: "The UHC Act is only halfway through its ten-year implementation timeline with little progress to show. Its goals are far from being fulfilled, with Filipinos having to shoulder 45.95% of out-of-pocket health expenditure1 in 2022. The myriad of problems plaguing the nation’s healthcare system mean that the purpose of the special fund persists, and that the fund should therefore not be used for purposes other than which it was created.”

Thus, they said “the maneuvering of PhilHealth funds violates the people’s constitutional right to health by denying them access to quality and affordable health care goods and services.”

They expressed confidence that they have a strong case before the SC.