Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa Progresibo Manggagawa (SENTRO), the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), and the Alliance of Filipino Workers (AFW) express outrage at the government’s abandonment of its commitment to attain Universal Healthcare (UHC) by diverting P60 billion worth of PhilHealth funds to the National Government.
As the Supreme Court hears the petitions for certiorari against the transfer of PhilHealth’s
reserve funds today, February 4, for which SENTRO and PSLINK are petitioners, we note that by diverting PhilHealth’s reserve funds in the guise of “excess,” the government has left direct contributors, or formally employed workers, many of whom are minimum wage earners themselves, the sole burden of funding healthcare of all PhilHealth members.
To make matters worse, PhilHealth’s claims of “excess funds” are absurd, given their inability to expand benefits and lower out-of-pocket payments, and the increase in premium contribution rates for direct contributors implemented in early 2024. Members should not be penalized for PhilHealth’s inefficiency.
This was exacerbated when Congress defunded PhilHealth and gave it a zero budget for 2025. This is gross negligence and a debasement of the social contract underpinning PhilHealth as a social health insurance program, which states that the government must subsidize the premium contributions of those who cannot afford to pay.
We are also alarmed at several recent anecdotes of PhilHealth indirect contributors being turned away at hospitals, a direct violation of section 9 of the UHC Act which states that “failure to pay premiums shall not prevent the enjoyment of any Program benefits.” We are concerned that these anecdotes of patients being turned away may be a result of the defunding of PhilHealth. Lastly, we express grave concern over the fact that the sin tax funds from 2023 and 2024, which, according to Republic Act 11346 or the Sin Tax Law, should be allocated towards PhilHealth for Universal Healthcare, were not given to PhilHealth in their entirety.
We demand the government to give the Filipino people what they are rightfully due under the law, and to not make them beg for the right to free, accessible, and quality healthcare. “Ang kalusugan ay karapatan, at hindi utang na loob”.#
