CAGAYAN de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez today urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to order the return of P90 billion to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) for its members’ medical benefits.
Philhealth has remitted the money to a “general fund” presumably under the national treasury.
“The President will do justice to the more than 104 million members of Philhealth if he orders the return of the funds. The money belongs to Philhealth members, not to a so-called ‘general fund’ of the national government,” Rodriguez said.
He said the funds could be used for the healthcare benefits of Philhealth members, for increased amounts of health insurance coverage, or for additional services not presently covered by the state-run health insurance system.
“This way, it is the members who will benefit from their funds, not some personalities who would dipped their fingers into the P90-billion ‘general fund’,” he said.
Rodriguez pointed out that the P90 billion consists of premium contributions from “direct contributors” and “indirect contributors.”
Direct contributors are employees from whom a portion of their salary is deducted every payday and remitted to Philhealth. Indirect contributors are the poor and senior citizens whose premiums are paid for by the national government.
“Whether direct or indirect premium contributions, these funds belong to Philhealth members. The national government should not take away what it has paid for the health insurance coverage of millions of the poor and the elderly and make these people pay for their health insurance,” Rodriguez said.
He chided Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, who chairs the Philhealth board, for failing to fight for the retention of the funds in Philhealth.
“Secretary Herbosa should explain this failure, which is not congruent with his previous declaration that Philhealth funds are for the benefit of its members,” he said.
