Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio warned that Executive Secretary Ralph Recto could be held liable for plunder and technical malversation if the Supreme Court rules that the Bureau of the Treasury illegally diverted ₱167 billion in trust funds to bankroll flood control projects.
In a televised interview, Carpio said the transfer of ₱60 billion from PhilHealth and ₱107 billion from PDIC enabled the flood control program to push through despite the funds being legally restricted.
“Technical malversation is a situation where the law (is) saying that this money should be used to build schoolhouses, you used the money to build a bridge,” Carpio said.
“When you did not obey it, that is what you call technical malversation. Whether you actually received a single centavo or not is immaterial because you did not follow the law,” he added.
Carpio and several petitioners earlier challenged a new provision in the 2024 General Appropriations Act ordering excess funds from GOCCs transferred to the BTr for unprogrammed appropriations — a mechanism he noted had never appeared in previous budgets.
PhilHealth and PDIC remitted the funds under a Department of Finance directive when Recto was still DOF secretary.
Calling the scheme “unconstitutional,” Carpio stressed that trust funds cannot be used for any purpose other than what the law mandates.
“It will be plunder because this is a series because there were two transfers and there were also transfers from several tranches from PDIC,” he said.
He cited two constitutional safeguards allegedly violated: the president may transfer only savings, not appropriations, and special funds from taxes — including PhilHealth’s sin tax allocations — must be used solely for their intended purpose.
“Even the President cannot transfer the appropriation itself. He can transfer only savings. But this one, these are not savings because these are trust funds,” he added.
Carpio argued that officials behind the scandal must return the money.
“It’s double whammy. It’s our taxpayers’ money that was stolen and we have to reimburse it. And they’ll be running all the way to the bank, laughing,” he said.
He also said he had discussed with Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima and Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno a proposed measure requiring that restituted funds be used to reimburse PhilHealth and PDIC.
“It’s just like the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. There is a law saying that a certain amount will go to fund the comprehensive agrarian reform program. So we can do that,” Carpio said.