[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”!!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”!!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”TO BE EDITED – SUMMARY – Click on the WHEEL icon to open the textarea where you can paste or type your summary. The summary condenses the main points for the news that starts below. The summary is in bold and not longer than 300 characters, including spaces. The counter at the bottom can help.” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||20px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto defended the transfer of PHP 89.9 billion in excess funds from PhilHealth to the national treasury, asserting that it is legal, moral, and necessary to address the growing needs of the nation, while ensuring that no member contributions were affected. He clarified that PhilHealth remains financially healthy, with significant net income growth and sufficient funds to continue enhancing healthcare services for Filipinos.<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TO BE EDITED – TEXT OF THE NEWS – BLOCK 1 – Click on the WHEEL icon to open the textarea where you can paste or type your news. PLEASE USE ONLY THE FEATURED IMAGE FUNCTION on your right column to add the image.” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1em||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Finance Secretary Ralph Recto emphasized the legality, morality, and economic sensibility of redirecting excess funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) during a recent Supreme Court hearing. He addressed concerns surrounding the transfer of PHP 89.9 billion in unused funds to the national treasury, stating, \u201cWe cannot, in good conscience, allow funds to languish in bank accounts as our nation\u2019s needs multiply daily.\u201d<\/p>\n Recto reinforced that the policy’s legality has been confirmed by several authoritative bodies, including the Office of the Solicitor General and the Commission on Audit (COA), and was also approved by the PhilHealth Board. He clarified that no contributions from PhilHealth members were affected. Of the PHP 60 billion remitted, 78 percent has been utilized for essential health projects, including paying healthcare frontliners, building hospitals, and providing medicines to the needy. He characterized the use of these funds as an exercise in fiscal justice.<\/p>\n Furthermore, Recto addressed misconceptions about PhilHealth’s financial health, particularly surrounding its Insurance Contract Liabilities (ICLs), which had been labeled by the COA as inaccurate. He clarified that these liabilities are not true debts but provisions for future obligations based on flawed actuarial estimates. For years, PhilHealth has generated higher revenues than expenditures, and much of its funds were underutilized due to a low absorptive capacity of about 58 percent.<\/p>\n Since 2019, PhilHealth\u2019s accumulated net income has quadrupled, growing from PHP109.95 billion to PHP464.27 billion in 2023, while average benefit claims expenses remained around PHP140 billion. Despite the PHP 60 billion remittance, PhilHealth retains PHP498 billion as of 2024, ample for enhancing various health benefit packages over the next two years. Recto concluded that allowing funds to remain idle while the public suffers is not prudence but negligence.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TO BE EDITED – TEXT OF THE NEWS – BLOCK 2 – Click on the WHEEL icon to open the textarea where you can paste or type your news. PLEASE USE ONLY THE FEATURED IMAGE FUNCTION on your right column to add the image.” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Finance Secretary Ralph Recto defended the transfer of PHP 89.9 billion in excess funds from PhilHealth to the national treasury, asserting that it is legal, moral, and necessary to address the growing needs of the nation, while ensuring that no member contributions were affected. He clarified that PhilHealth remains financially healthy, with significant net income…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2098,"featured_media":987768116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[],"tags":[134,3046],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987768088"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2098"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=987768088"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987768088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987768135,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987768088\/revisions\/987768135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/987768116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987768088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=987768088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=987768088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}