Senator Bong Go reiterated that around P200 billion earmarked must be given to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in compliance with the law.
“Kung maaari maibigay na po iyung hindi naibibigay dahil nasa Sin Tax Law po iyung earmarking, about P200 billion pa po ang hindi nabibigay since 2023,” Go said in his manifestation during the Bicameral Conference Committee meeting.
“Ilang buhay po ang masasalba sa pondong ito?”
“Ilang pasyente po ang matutulungan nito? Ilang buhay po ang masasalba sa pondong ito?” the veteran legislator added.
Republic Act No. 10351, or the Sin Tax Law, mandates a large percentage of the tobacco and alcohol excise tax goes to the health sector, particularly to fund the universal health coverage of PhilHealth.
As Vice Chair of both the Senate Health and Finance Committees, the seasoned lawmaker also stressed that the recent move to transfer excess funds of PhilHealth to the national treasury is not only morally unacceptable but also unconstitutional as decided by the Supreme Court. This, considering that access to quality healthcare remains a pressing concern in the Philippines, particularly for low-income families struggling with medical expenses.
As the former Chair of the Senate Health Committee, he had exercised oversight to review and evaluate the implementation of health-related laws as shown by the 14 hearings he conducted in this regard.
“Nagkaroon po ako ng 14 hearings, including health emergency allowances ng mga healthcare workers at doon natin nakita na kulang talaga iyung counterpart ng PhilHealth sa kanilang mga pasyente,” Go said.
“Ubusin ninyo ang pondo ninyo sa mahihirap nating pasyente.”
Due to the non provision of earmarked funds from taxes indicated in related existing laws and the unconstititional transfer of excess funds, he noted that the Philippines remains far from the full implementation of the Universal Health Care Act: “Napakalayo pa natin sa full implementation of that law. Dapat po i-maximize po ng PhilHealth and pondo nila. Ubusin ninyo ang pondo ninyo sa mahihirap nating pasyente.”
Despite these, Go underscored that it is imperative for health agencies, led by the Department of Health and PhilHealth, to exert extra effort in ensuring that the goals and objectives of the UHC will be achieved.
“Ang PhilHealth po para sa health, klaro naman po. PhilHealth para sa Pilipino. Ang PhilHealth po ay hindi negosyo. Dapat po mayroon tayong insurance, na dapat mayroong masasandalan tuwing nagkakasakit,” he pointed out.
Related to this, Go commended both houses of Congress by displaying transparency in the budget process: “Salamat at ngayon maririnig na po ng taumbayan ang pinag-uusapan dito at it has been my call for participative budget process. Dapat talaga involved ang ating mga kababayan sa proseso. Pera po ng taumbayan ang pinag-uusapan dito kaya dapat alam nila kung ano ang proseso na ginagawa.”
To recall, Go, widely regarded as a crusader of health reforms, is one of the lawmakers who did not sign last year’s Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the proposed budget stemming from his opposition to the lowered budget for health including zero subsidy to PhilHealth, among others.
