DOF bows to SC's TRO on excess PhilHealth funds transfer

The Department of Finance (DOF) on Tuesday said it would comply and respect the Supreme Court's (SC) order holding in abeyance the transfer of the remaining excess government subsidies of the Philippines Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

In a statement, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the DOF respects "the Supreme Court's intervention."

"As a public servant myself, I recognize the right of every citizen to seek redress from the courts. Rest assured that the DOF will fully comply with the order of the Supreme Court," Recto said.

The Supreme Court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the further transfer of the balance of PhilHealth's P89.9-billion excess and unused funds back to the Treasury.

PhilHealth has so far transferred P60 billion to BTr, with P29.9 billion remaining with the agency.

Asked if the TRO means whether the previously transferred funds will be returned to PhilHealth, SC spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting said this was not the subject of the high court's order.

"We give our full cooperation to the Supreme Court as we look forward to the opportunity to shed light on the issues presented during the oral arguments. With this honorable platform, we trust that all issues will be addressed once and for all," Recto said.

The Finance chief reiterated that the DOF's move to sweep the idle, unused, and excess funds of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) is a mandate under Republic Act 11975 or the GAA 2024, which was approved by Congress.

"We reiterate that before proceeding with the utilization of GOCC idle funds, our agency exercised due diligence and consulted extensively with the government's legal experts. These include the Governance Commission for GOCCs, the Government Corporate Counsel, and the Commission on Audit. These efforts were undertaken to ensure full compliance with our laws," Recto said.

The DOF, he said, received favorable legal opinions on the matter that PhilHealth's unutilized government subsidies are not part of its reserve funds, nor income that is being restricted by the Universal Health Care Act to be used by the national government as a general fund.

The programs and projects funded by the unused government subsidies to PhilHealth include the health workers' unpaid allowances during the pandemic; the Salary Standardization VI for government employees released this year; the revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program; the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project; the Philippine Rural Development Project; the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project; and various big-ticket infrastructure projects under the Build Better More program.

PhilHealth, OSG bow, too

For its part, PhilHealth likewise said it respects and would fully abide by the SC's decision.

"We remain focused on our mission to provide all Filipinos with adequate financial protection against health risks through better and responsive benefit packages and availment policies that ensure greater access to healthcare services whenever and wherever they need them most," PhilHealth President Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which represents the government officials named as respondents in the pleadings, will respect the TRO. — VDV, GMA Integrated News