Impounding of P89.9-B PhilHealth 'excess funds' hit

As the Supreme Court (SC) is set to hold oral arguments today on the petitions opposing the transfer of the P89.9-billion "excess funds" of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the national treasury, personalities in the health sector continue to decry the fund transfer as unjustified.

- By RHODINA VILLANUEVA

Juan Antonio Perez III, former executive director of the Commission on Population and Development, said the claim of PhilHealth having "excess funds" is misleading and therefore, the transfer of the alleged excess funds is unjustified.

Citing PhilHealth's annual financial report certified by the Commission on Audit, Perez said that contrary to Finance Secretary Ralph Recto's claim of excess funds, PhilHealth actually has negative equity, given its liabilities of P1.27 trillion.

Perez also pointed out that "the state insurer's deficit is at P663 billion, the second highest among all government-owned and controlled corporations."

"Thus, the PhilHealth fund transfer of P60 billion in 2024 was completely unjustified," Perez declared at a forum in Quezon City.