Bicam earmarks P51B for zero balance billing for poor patients

The Bicameral Conference Committee on the 2026 national budget has approved a P51.645-billion allocation for the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) Program.

- By ELLSON QUISMORIO, HANNAH TORREGOZA, and TRIXEE ROSEL

HOLIDAY RUSH - People flock to Divisoria in Manila on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, to buy Christmas gifts just 11 days before Christmas. (John Louie Abria)

(John Louie Abria)

This took place during the first day of the bicam hearings on the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on Saturday, Dec. 13, which lasted past midnight Sunday, Dec. 14.

Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing, the head of the House of Representatives' contingent to the bicam, moved for the approval of the final amount of P51.645 billion.

Senate contingent head and Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian carried the motion after hearing no objection from the conferees.

As the name implies, the MAIFIP is a mechanism used for the benefit of poor Filipinos with medical needs. It is not given in the form of cash; rather, it is a guarantee letter provided by politicians.

While this makes it controversial by nature, the conferees still acknowledged its necessity.

"In a perfect world...dapat pagpasok ng isang mahirap sa pampublikong hospital, make-cater na ang kanyang pangangailangan, dapat ganun. Hindi kailangan yung kakilala yung mayor, congressman, senador. Sana ganun," Senator Loren Legarda said during the marathon hearing. (When a poor person enters a public hospital, their needs should already be catered to, that’s how it should be. It should not be necessary to know the mayor, congressman, or senator. Hopefully, that’s how it would be.)

"Until such time that the UHC (Universal Health Care Law) is really, completely, properly implemented, and PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) is able to handle all of this, I believe that we must provide for the poorest of the poor in the most far-flung islands, and the highest uplands," she noted.