Marcos, Cabinet, Congress fooling us while looting our PhilHealth contributions

GOTCHA

- JARIUS BONDOC

High officials are trying to placate us PhilHealth members. That's after they took P60 billion of our money in 2024 and P74 billion in 2025. They're prepping us for another scam. In 2026, they'll turn over for PhilHealth indigent members only P53 billion from sin taxes.

Note that our indigent members' share of sin taxes should be rising. It was P79 billion in 2022, P84 billion in 2023 and P166 billion in 2024.

It should've been higher this 2025. But Malacañang shaved it to only P74 billion. Congress then zeroed it out, transferring our money to illegal pork barrels.

Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman and Finance Sec. Ralph Recto feigned innocence at Congress' first hearing Tuesday on the 2026 national budget.

Pangandaman sounded sorry that government can allot only one percent of GDP for Health - way below WHO's prescribed five percent.

Recto assured that, if the Supreme Court so orders, the admin can easily return what's left of the P60 billion he diverted from our PhilHealth coffers in 2024.

In his State of the Nation Address in July, Bongbong Marcos touted that Filipinos no longer have to pay a cent when confined in state hospitals. He made it seem like his admin will foot the bill. On cue, BBM's Senate and House supermajorities jumped for joy like chimpanzees.

Days later, Health Sec. Ted Herbosa bared the mechanics. 84 hospitals nationwide will offer "zero-balance billing." How? By charging everything to — what else but — our PhilHealth.