The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition has called for Executive Secretary Ralph Recto’s resignation over his handling of the unconstitutional transfer of ₱60 billion in Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) reserved funds to the National Treasury.
The coalition, petitioners-in-intervention in the PhilHealth case, warned that with Recto, “the government is in dangerous hands.”
The demand came after Recto defended the transfer, citing “common sense” as justification, a stance Nagkaisa described as reckless and “unrepentantly clueless about the special laws governing social security funds.”
“Even though there are four magistrates who didn’t see this, to the ordinary worker the verdict is clear: it’s shameful, inexcusable. The man heading the Marcos Cabinet does not even grasp the basic architecture of social security funding,” the group said.
“Anyone appointed to head the Cabinet — and formerly the Department of Finance (DOF) — must, at minimum, understand how social insurance works. Recto clearly does not,” it added.
Recto, during his tenure as Finance secretary, signed DOF Circular 0030-2024, directing the transfer of ₱89.9 billion in “excess” PhilHealth funds to the Treasury.
Only ₱60 billion was remitted after a Supreme Court restraining order halted the remainder. The Court en banc later ruled the circular and related provisions in the 2024 GAA unconstitutional.