Rowegie Abanto

Dr. Anthony Leachon at the House of Representatives Hearing on the Dengvaxia controversy, Monday, February 26, 2018. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Dr. Anthony Leachon 

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176594914192120180226-congressional-hearing-dengvaxia-leachon-JC-5178.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Dr. Anthony Leachon. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span>MANILA — Reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon, a former government health adviser, warned Wednesday that the controversial Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients medical aid program could birth the next corruption scandal in the Philippines.</div><p>&quot;Ang nakakatakot dito, ito yung susunod na flood control project, ito yung health pork barrel dahil nabuking na dito sa flood control, at muling bubuhayin dito sa MAIFIP, na susunod pong pork barrel anomaly,&quot; Leachon, who also fiercely opposed the transfer of <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/5/supreme-court-orders-government-to-restore-p60-b-philhealth-fund-1435">P60 billion from the PhilHealth fund </a>to the national treasury, told ANC.</p><p>(What is scary here, this is the next flood control project. This is health pork barrel because flood control has already been exposed. They will revive it through MAIFIP, it will be the next pork barrel anomaly)</p><p>&quot;Pork barrel&quot; refers to discretionary funds that the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 was unconstitutional because money was allocated when the national budget had already been passed into law.</p><p>MAIFIP provides financial aid to help unburden eligible applicants&#x27; medical expenses in hospitals.</p><p>But critics, including Leachon and some 70 medical groups, say the program is being used in patronage politics through guarantee letters from politicians.</p><p>The letters, also called GLs, are written assurances from government agencies like the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development that they will shoulder some or all of a patient&#x27;s medical costs.</p><p>Leachon said the MAIFIP program undermines the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Act of 2019, which ensures equal access to quality and affordable health care for all Filipinos.</p><p>The program is also &quot;anti-poor,&quot; Leachon added, because indigent families would need to &quot;beg&quot; from public officials to help them pay their medical bills.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;HIGANTENG PORK BARREL&#x27;</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8q3WeGA17q8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>MAIFIP received a P51-billion funding in the bicameral conference committee meeting, one of the final stages of passing a law.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/13/senators-ok-congressmen-s-plea-for-higher-maifip-2328">Senators OK congressmen&#x27;s plea for higher MAIFIP</a></div><p>Lawmakers who supported the MAIFIP program, however, said safeguards had been put in the proposed spending plan to prevent it from being used in patronage politics.</p><p>But for Leachon, the supposed guardrails are just an excuse because lawmakers were &quot;threatened&quot; by questions surrounding the program.</p><p>&quot;For me na nakakakita nito araw-araw, ang laking problema nito para sa ating lahat. At pag hindi natin na-control, ito’y isang magiging higanteng pork barrel na parang kasing tumbas din ng flood control project,&quot; he said.</p><p>(For me who sees this daily, this is a big problem for all of us. If we cannot control this. It will be pork barrel similar to flood-control projects)</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LEACHON DETAILS SUPPOSED SCHEME</strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>Leachon said a former governor had detailed to him how the MAIFIP program is vulnerable to corruption.</p><p>He said a patient could go to a politician&#x27;s office for assistance, which would prompt the politician to coordinate with the director of the government hospital.</p><p>&quot;Kunyari ang MAIFIP niya ay nakalagay P10 million, puwede nilang pag-usapan daw ng direktor ng ospital na &#x27;yon, kunyari sa akin yung P8 million sa &#x27;yo yung P1 million sa pasyente ay P1 million na lang, ganyan ang mangyayari,&quot; he said.</p><p>(If the MAIFIP allocation is P10 million, they could connive and agree that the politician will get P8 million of it and the hospital director would get P1 million. So what is left for the patient would be P1 million, that is what will happen)</p><p>&quot;Naghihirap na yung mga tao, mamamatay na, pinagkakakitaan pa natin. Yun ang hindi katanggap-tanggap sa akin.&quot;</p><p>(The patient is already suffering, dying, and you make money off it. That is what is unacceptable)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/16/lawmaker-says-maifip-not-patronage-politics-1723">Lawmaker says MAIFIP &#x27;not patronage politics&#x27;</a></div><p>With this, Leachon said lawmakers could either abolish MAIFIP and transfer the P51 billion fund to PhilHealth or reduce the funding for the program and gradually transition to zero subsidy for it to instead strengthen the Universal Healthcare Law.</p><p>He said politicians want to retain discretionary funds like MAIFIP in preparation for the 2028 elections.</p><p>&quot;Kapag nawala yung engagement nila sa mga pasyente at ang utang na loob hindi sila ma-e-elect sa 2028,&quot; he said.</p><p>(If they lose the engagement with the voters, if they lose their gratitude, they will not be elected in 2028)</p>

<p>Reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon, a former government health adviser, warned Wednesday that the controversial health aid program MAIFIP could birth the next corruption scandal in the Philippines.</p>

Reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon, a former government health adviser, warned Wednesday that the controversial health aid program MAIFIP could birth the next corruption scandal in the Philippines.

Leachon: MAIFIP medical aid program could lead to next corruption scandal

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Leachon: MAIFIP medical aid program could lead to next corruption scandal

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 17, 2025 02:17 PM PHT

|

Updated December 18, 2025 01:41 PM PHT

Read More:

MAIFIP

Tony Leachon

Patronage Politics

Universal Healthcare Act

Healthcare

National Budget

2026 National Budget

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