President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday announced the return of ₱60 billion in excess funds to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to help expand the state health insurer’s coverage and services.
Marcos made the announcement during his visit to Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Santa Cruz, Manila.
“Kahit na anong paliwanag na ibigay namin, kahit na anong ipakita natin na dumadami ang serbisyo na kino-cover ng PhilHealth, may pangamba pa rin ang tao na baka mabawasan ang mga services. Dinadagdagan na natin,” the President said.
“’Yung ₱60 billion na iyan ibabalik na natin sa PhilHealth. Hindi lamang para sa pangamba ng tao kung hindi dahil gagamitin na natin yan para palawakin pa ang services ng PhilHealth,” he added.
The move comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in October 2024 to stop the further transfer of PhilHealth funds to the national treasury following several petitions.
By then, however, ₱60 billion in unutilized funds had already been remitted, leaving only ₱29.9 billion with PhilHealth.
In April 2025, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto defended the reallocation, saying the transfer was “legal, moral, and economically sound,” emphasizing that not a single centavo of members’ contributions was affected. Recto added that about 78 percent of the ₱60 billion had already been used to finance critical health projects.