HOUSE leaders on Tuesday blasted former COVID-19 task force adviser Dr. Tony Leachon over the plunder and malversation complaints he filed against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and other officials, accusing him of politicizing a budget issue and misleading the public about how government reserve funds work.
The complaints involved the transfer of about P60 billion in unused Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) reserve funds and P107 billion from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) to the national treasury under a special provision of the 2024 General Appropriations Act.
Deputy Speaker Janette Garin of Iloilo said Leachon was attacking officials for carrying out a mechanism that was authorized by Congress itself.
“Delikado ang kaunting kaalaman kapag ginagamit para magkunwaring eksperto sa budget process,” Garin said.
“Secretary Ralph Recto merely implemented what was clearly authorized under the General Appropriations Act. Kung talagang naniniwala si Dr. Leachon na ilegal ito, bakit hindi niya kasuhan ang buong Kongreso at Senado na nagpasa ng batas?” she added.
Garin also suggested that forces may be encouraging Leachon to repeatedly attack Recto.
“I challenge Dr. Leachon to reveal who is really pushing him to keep throwing reckless accusations against the Executive Secretary,” she said.
Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur said Leachon seemed more interested in creating controversy than discussing real accountability issues.
“Parang pilit na pilit niyang ilihis ang usapan mula sa mga totoong issue ng pananagutan,” Adiong said.
“If accountability is truly his advocacy, then he should apply the same standard to everyone and not only when it fits a political narrative,” he added.
House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chair Jude Acidre, for his part, said Leachon was displaying a poor understanding of how reserve funds actually work.
“Kulang sa kaalaman sa proseso pero sobra sa pag-iingay,” Acidre said.
“He keeps repeating that the funds were ‘unused,’ when that is precisely why they are called reserve funds. They are not meant to be spent recklessly or automatically exhausted,” he added.
Acidre said Leachon was misleading the public by portraying reserve funds as abandoned money that government officials simply grabbed for themselves.
“That is a gross distortion of how fiscal management works,” he said.
Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union, meanwhile, accused Leachon of using the issue for politics.
“Naiintindihan naman natin na natalo noong nakaraang eleksyon ang kanyang anak at ilang kamag-anak. Pero huwag naman sanang gawing political weapon ang mga reklamong kulang sa basehan,” Ortega said.
“Ang problema rito, pinagmumukhang public advocacy ang malinaw na pamumulitika,” he added.
Garin suggested that Leachon’s attacks may also be tied to his long-standing ambition to become Health secretary.
“Bawat administrasyon, laging nagpapakitang-gilas si Dr. Leachon para mapansin bilang posibleng Secretary of Health,” Garin, a former Health secretary during the Aquino administration, said.
“Alam naman niyang hindi siya kinokonsidera ng kasalukuyang search committee kaya mukhang napaaga lang ang kanyang pagpupuwesto,” Garin added.
