Thinking we’re dumb, Congress stole our PhilHealth’s P244 B

Politicos think we’re all dumb. So they rob us repeatedly. Their favorite target: our PhilHealth.

Last August the executive proposed a measly P244 billion for our state health insurance in 2027. It was less than half of what the Universal Health Care Act (UHCA) requires.

This month the House of Reps slashed the P244 billion to only P74 billion. Congressmen transferred bulk of the stolen P170 billion to Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients.

MAIFIP is political health ayuda. To avail of it, we’re expected to suck up to legislators and their relatives in local posts. They issue “guarantee letters” for us to avail treatments in government hospitals.

Government hospitals run on taxes we pay. But by doling MAIFIP, politicos make us think they’re so kind so we should elect their dynasties over and over.

UHCA runs on our taxes too. Part of sin taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugary drinks must go to PhilHealth. Also half of “social funds” that Pagcor and PCSO remit to Malacañang.

Those total around P541 billion. It’s to subsidize indigents, retirees and PWDs who can’t contribute to PhilHealth. It can cover annual doctors consultations, dental checkups, lab works, maintenance meds, hospitalizations, even dialysis.

Employees contribute to PhilHealth P500 to P5,000 a month depending on pay scale. As contributors they deserve their money’s worth of the above PhilHealth benefits.

But because politicos steal our money, PhilHealth must downscale benefits to both contributors and noncontributors. Instead of full PhilHealth coverage we must shell out 44.4 percent of yearly health bills – the highest in ASEAN.

In 2024 Malacañang took P60 billion from PhilHealth for use in flood controls and bridgeworks. Its lame excuse was that such projects are needed for health care because doctors, patients, ambulances traverse those infrastructure.

The Supreme Court ordered in 2025 the return of PhilHealth’s P60 billion. By then, politicos had divvied it up as public works kickbacks. To comply with SC’s ruling, Malacañang and Congress simply appropriated P60 billion. They stole our money and paid it back with our taxes.

Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Mikaela Suansing.

Screengrab from House of Reps.

PhilHealth was to get a paltry P54 billion from sin taxes that year. Claiming that PhilHealth already got its P60 billion back, Congress moved the P54 billion to still more flood controls.

People decried the plunder. Congress gave PhilHealth P130 billion in 2026. Still insufficient.

On Oct. 6, congressmen moved PhilHealth’s P170 billion for 2027 to MAIFIP and DPWH. News videos showed supermajority members crying for joy. Crocodiles shed tears after a full meal.

Aside from PhilHealth other agencies were robbed: DepEd, DOST, DOTr and government counterpart funding for foreign-assisted projects. Total loot: P180 billion – added to the DPWH allocations of supermajority congressmen.

As before, senators will uphold the House-approved budget. So our only recourse is a presidential veto. After all, Bongbong Marcos had chastised greedy politicos in his 2025 State of the Nation: “Mahiya naman kayo!”

But veto by BBM is iffy. The P180 billion went to his allies.

BBM’s son Majority leader Sandro Marcos got the biggest slice. DPWH’s engineering office in his Ilocos Norte 1st district initially was allotted P400 million. The House raised it more than ten times to P4.8 billion. In 2023-2025 Sandro already got P15.8 billion.

Second placer was Rep. Mikaela Suansing, House appropriations committee chairwoman. Her Nueva Ecija 1st district got P3.91 billion.

Third placer: Rep. Augustina Pancho, appropriations vice chairwoman, whose Bulacan 2nd district got P3.5 billion.

Fourth: Rep. Joseph Tan, also appropriations vice chairman, whose Isabela 4th district got P3.1 billion. Tan is brother-in-law of Speaker Bojie Dy’s son.

The P180-billion DPWH extra allocations are “discretionary,” “lumpsums.” “without project studies” – the three elements of pork barrels that SC outlawed in 2013. Politicos not only take us for fools. They also have no fear of God. The Good Book says in Psalms 37:28, “For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked shall be cut off.”

*      *      *

Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8 to 10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM).

Follow me on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/Jarius-Bondoc