President Marcos has ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to grant amnesty for business owners, private employers, and self-employed Filipinos who have unpaid contributions.

Marcos made the announcement in a video message on Thursday morning, Jan. 8, giving employers a year to pay all their missed contributions from 2013 to 2024.

"[I]nutusan ko po ang PhilHealth na magpatupad ng general amnesty para sa mga negosyante, private employer, mga self-employed na ating mga kababayan na hindi nabayarang kontribusyon sa PhilHealth (I have instructed PhilHealth to implement a general amnesty for business owners, private employers, and our self-employed countrymen who have unpaid PhilHealth contributions)," Marcos announced.

"Bibigyan natin mga employer ng isang taon para mabayaran na lahat ng na-missed contributions mula 2013 hanggang 2024 (We will give employers one year to pay all missed contributions from 2013 to 2024)," Marcos added.

He recognized that the three percent contribution paid to PhilHealth and remitted monthly "is something the people really feel."

With this, the President said, PhilHealth will implement a one-time waiver for the interest this year.

He further said that the general amnesty will benefit around 300,000 beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, he encouraged employers to update their information and register their employees under the  Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP), an enhanced primary care benefit package that focuses on preventive and promotive healthcare.

"Hinihikayat din natin ang ating mga employer na i-update na ang lahat ng information ninyo at magrehistro – irehistro ang mga empleyado ninyo sa Yaman ng Kalusugan o ‘yung ating tinatawag na YAKAP program (We also encourage our employers to update all their information and to register their employees with Yaman ng Kalusugan, or what we call the YAKAP program)," Marcos said.  

According to the Chief Executive, the move is intended to help ease the burden of healthcare costs among Filipinos.

"Kaya po ito po ay patuloy naming ginagawa upang pagaanin ang dala ng ating mga kababayan tungkol nga sa mga healthcare costs at sa lahat ng iba’t ibang hamon na hinaharap ng ating mga kababayan araw-araw (We are doing all this to help ease the burden of healthcare costs and the many other challenges that our fellow citizens face every day)," he said.