PhilHealth Should Get P242 Billion in 2026, But Marcos, DBM Allot Only One-Fifth

GOTCHA

- JARIUS BONDOC

Our PhilHealth should get P242.28 billion in 2026. That's government's obligation to health insurance for all. But President Bongbong Marcos and Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman allot only P53.3 billion, or one-fifth, for next year.

They're shortchanging us PhilHealth members by P188.98 billion in 2026. That's after Malacañang rechanneled P60 billion from our PhilHealth in 2024 for Panay-Guimaras-Negros islands bridges, for which Korea already lent construction money. That's also after Congress zeroed out our PhilHealth's original P74-billion subsidy in 2025. Marcos approved both acts against our PhilHealth.

Special laws obligate P242.28 billion in the 2026 national budget:

Denying our PhilHealth its legal due is criminal. The Marcos admin has been getting away with it since 2022. Same with the Duterte admin in 2019-2022.

The P242.28 billion is broken down as:

We PhilHealth members consist of 66 million direct contributors and dependents, and 37 million indigents.

Government deducts our direct contributions from our monthly salaries, P500 to P5,000, depending on pay scale.

Indigents are subsidized by PAGCOR, PCSO and sin taxes.