Members of the House of Representatives are fully behind President Marcos' decision to return to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) the P60 billion that was initially taken by the national government from the state health insurer.

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez called the move "a piece of good news for millions of Philhealth members".

"The money belongs to them in the first place, not to the national government,” Rodriguez pointed out in a statement.

“The President should be commended for ordering the return of the funds without waiting for the Supreme Court to issue its ruling on the illegal transfer of the money to the national treasury,” he said.

At the same time, Rodriguez urged the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to inform PhilHealth members “where their P60 billion was used.

“The DBM owes it to PhilHealth members and to the public in general to explain the use of the huge amount. We hope none of it went to flood control projects,” said the veteran solon.

Rodriguez said PhilHealth should use the money for the purpose the President announced - increased benefits and expanded services.

The Mindanao lawmaker was among the first to fight for the return of almost P90 billion in PhilHealth funds the Department of Finance (DOF) ad asked to be remitted to the national treasury on the basis of a mandate contained in the 2024 national budget.

As early as July 22 last year, he had asked the President to stop the transfer and to order the return of whatever amount already turned over.

“The President will do justice to the more than 104 million members of Philhealth if he orders the return of the funds. The money belongs to Philhealth members, not to a so-called ‘general fund’ of the national government,” he said then in a press statement.

In October last year, the SC issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping further Philhealth transfer to the treasury. By that time, Philhealth had already remitted P60 billion. The TRO prevented the turnover of an additional P29.9 billion.

Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal also praised the Palace's decision, which he called a “clear and welcome victory for the rule of law”.

The party-list has consistently opposed the practice of sweeping funds meant for specific social services into general savings, as it warned that such acts undermine the constitutional power of the purse. Its former representative, Bernadette Herrera, has long championed the protection of earmarked revenues in Congress.

“The President’s directive to return the P60 billion to PhilHealth is a clear and welcome victory for the rule of law. More importantly, it is a vindication of the long-standing fight of Bagong Henerasyon Party-list to protect the sanctity of earmarked revenues,” Nazal said.

Nazal emphasized that earmarked funds—such as those set by law for healthcare, education, or social services—are “non-negotiable” and should never be treated as discretionary savings by the Executive.

“For years, we have insisted that funds specifically appropriated by law for a dedicated purpose—in this case, for the health of every Filipino—are non-negotiable. They are not savings that can be casually swept and repurposed by the Executive whenever it pleases. To do so is to defy the legislative intent and undermine the very essence of the power of the purse,” he explained.

Herrera, for her part, said the episode must serve as a lesson and a turning point for all branches of government.

“This development serves as a crucial lesson. While we commend the Executive for correcting this misstep, we must now move to fortify our laws. We will call on the Members of Congress to introduce more stringent safeguards in the General Appropriations Act to create an ironclad wall around all earmarked funds,” Herrera said.

She also stressed that the fight goes well beyond PhilHealth, and underscored the broader principle that earmarked funds must always benefit their rightful beneficiaries.

Also giving props to President Marcos was Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno.

"We laud the President for heeding our call to return Philhealth's P60 billion excess funds to the agency. We ask the Department of Health (DOH) to guarantee that these funds will be used to expand PhilHealth’s programs in providing affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare to all Filipinos, as mandated by law," Diokno said on his social media.