Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez called on the national government to return the ₱107 billion transferred from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) to the National Treasury, arguing that the move is as unconstitutional as the recently voided transfer of PhilHealth funds.
Rodriguez welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision ordering the government to restore PhilHealth’s ₱60 billion, which had been remitted to the treasury under instructions from the Department of Finance (DOF).
“We have been saying all along that this transfer violated the Constitution, the Universal Health Care Law and laws that earmark part of collections from sin taxes to healthcare,” he said.
The Supreme Court had struck down the 2024 budget provision that required government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) to remit excess funds, as well as the DOF circular enforcing it. Rodriguez said the same constitutional grounds apply to PDIC.
He stressed that PDIC’s ₱107 billion must be returned because “The ₱107 billion is intended for bank deposit insurance coverage. Its transfer to the national government prejudiced millions of bank depositors.”
Rodriguez noted that the invalidated budget directive originally targeted 11 GOCCs, including the Philippine Ports Authority, Philippine Reclamation Authority, TransCo, APC Production Unit, and others. He urged the government to clarify whether these entities had also remitted funds affected by the Supreme Court ruling.