Rowegie Abanto

PhilHealth processes members’ transactions in Quezon City. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File 



Article (news)

Raphael Bosano

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/17649155343781764915531753.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">PhilHealth processes members’ transactions in Quezon City. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) — The Supreme Court has ordered the government to restore the P60 billion Philippine Health Insurance Corporation fund that was transferred to the national treasury in 2024.</p><p>In a unanimous decision dated December 3 and made public Friday, the high court declared &quot;void&quot; the transfer of the P60 billion PhilHealth fund &quot;for having been issued and implemented with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.&quot;</p><p>It ordered the government to return the P60 billion fund to PhilHealth by including a specific item in the 2026 national budget.</p><p>Although it did not declare the 2024 General Appropriations Bill unconstitutional, the Supreme Court said the fund transfer violated several provisions of the 1987 Constitution.</p><p>Petitioners had argued that it was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/2/4/petitioners-insist-p89-9-b-philhealth-fund-transfer-to-treasury-illegal-2108">illegal to transfer the funds to the national treasury</a> based on the 2024 General Appropriations Act and the Department of Finance Circular No. 003 2024.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>TRO NOW PERMANENT</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The government was supposed to return to the national treasury a total of P89.9 billion in PhilHealth funds in four tranches.</p><p>But the last fund transfer, amounting to P29.9 billion, had not been made following fierce opposition from health and civil society groups and the public, and after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in October restricting any further movement.</p><p>The court&#x27;s decision included permanently barring Congress and the executive department from implementing the transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion fund balance of PhilHealth.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/2/sc-justices-raise-personal-concerns-during-oral-arguments-on-p89-9-b-philhealth-fund-transfers-1936">Justices raise personal concerns in oral arguments on P89.9-B PhilHealth fund transfers</a></div><p>In September, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the P60 billion fund would be returned by <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/20/philhealth-s-p60-b-excess-funds-reverted-to-treasury-to-be-returned-marcos-jr-1305">sourcing money from the savings</a> of other government agencies, mainly the Department of Public Works and Highways.</p><p>In the decision, the Supreme Court &quot;noted&quot; the President&#x27;s pronouncement.</p><div> </div><div><strong>RECTO STANDS BY FUND TRANSFERS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Ralph Recto, the finance chief during the controversial transfers, had earlier defended the move, saying the &quot;excess&quot; money was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/8/7/recto-philhealth-excess-fund-not-from-members-contribution-2112">not from members&#x27; contributions</a> but from the national government&#x27;s subsidy to the state insurer.</p><p>On Friday, Recto, who is now Marcos&#x27; executive secretary, said in a statement that he respects the Supreme Court decision and assured that the executive department would follow the order.</p><p>&quot;We reiterate that the Executive simply complied with the congressional mandate under the 2024 GAA, and that the Department of Finance’s (DOF) role is solely in revenue generation and debt and deficit management,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;We believed then, and still believe, that the directive was a common-sense approach to optimize government coffers without resorting to additional borrowing or new taxes.&quot;</p><p>He also noted that the finance department had been given the &quot;green light&quot; before the remittances and that the PhilHealth board also approved the transfer.</p><p>He stressed that PhilHealth&#x27;s ability to deliver services had never been impaired by the fund transfer, adding &quot;no member contributions were taken.&quot;</p><p>&quot;In fact, the correction led to the agency’s largest expansion of benefit packages in Universal Health Care history, alongside the rollout of Zero Balance Billing to protect Filipino families from rising medical costs,&quot; he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PHILHEALTH, DOH WELCOME SUPREME COURT DECISION</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In a separate statement, PhilHealth said it also welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court, noting it would continue to work hard in ensuring the health of every Filipino.</p><p>Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, meanwhile, said PhilHealth is focusing on the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act through systematic and consistent health financing.</p><p>He also said his department would wait for the advice of the Office of the Solicitor General for their next actions.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><div><strong><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/9TLNK0CGQE8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The Supreme Court has ordered the Marcos administration to restore the P60 billion fund of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation that had been transferred to the national treasury in 2024.</p>

The Supreme Court has ordered the Marcos administration to restore the P60 billion fund of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation that had been transferred to the national treasury in 2024.

SC orders gov't to restore P60-B PhilHealth fund, bars further transfers

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SC orders gov't to restore P60-B PhilHealth fund, bars further transfers

Raphael Bosano,

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 05, 2025 02:35 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 05, 2025 04:48 PM PHT

Read More:

Supreme Court

PhilHealth

PhilHealth Fund

National Treasury

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation

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