The House of Representatives was one step ahead of the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the questioned transfer of ₱60 billion from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the national treasury.

Deputy Majority Leader Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong had this to say Sunday, Dec. 7 amid the SC's celebrated decision of ordering the return of the ₱60 billion to the state health insurer.

Adiong said asserted that regardless of the SC ruling, the House of Representatives had already carried out the only legal and constitutional remedy to return the ₱60 billion to the PhilHealth—by restoring the funds through the 2026 national budget during the House passage of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Adiong, a vice chaiman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said the chamber moved swiftly after President Marcos issued the fund return directive--months before the SC issued its own order.

“The House has already complied, following the President’s order, and regardless of the result of cases pending before the High Court,” noted Adiong, a member of the "Young Guns".

He was reacting to Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David’s suggestion that President Marcos and Congress should not “simply backfill” the ₱60 billion ordered returned to the PhilHealth by the SC, but should instead recover the money from those who allegedly profited from the fund diversion.

He emphasized that Congress followed the same lawful mechanism used when the questioned amount was originally released.

“Kung may proseso sa pagkuha, may proseso sa pagbalik. At iyan ay sa pamamagitan ng national budget (If there is a process for taking, then there's a process for recovering). The mechanism for returning the money is the same as the mechanism in getting it,” Adiong stressed.

Under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by Malacañang, PhilHealth was originally allotted ₱53 billion for 2026. The GAB or proposed national budget is based on the NEP.

The House later added the full ₱60 billion to comply with the President’s instructions, raising PhilHealth’s total allocation to ₱113 billion next year.

Appropriations committee chairperson, Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing earlier pointed out this adjustment during budget deliberations.

PhilHealth was “allocated ₱53 billion under the 2026 NEP, and the additional ₱60 billion would bring its total allocation to ₱113 billion,” Suansing said.

Budget officials reported that the House placed the additional amount into the GAB, while the Senate upheld the realignment in its committee report.

The restoration was funded using savings generated from a review of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) proposed budget, which freed up ₱255.5 billion for social programs.

The move more than doubles PhilHealth’s 2026 subsidy, strengthening universal healthcare and ensuring wider coverage for millions of Filipinos.

Adiong said that while accountability processes may continue as separate legal matters, the constitutional path for refunding PhilHealth had already been completed.

“The House has done what the law requires. We followed the President’s directive, we followed the Constitution, and we returned the ₱60 billion through the national budget,” the Mindanaoan said.