Chiz pushed for scrapping of P74-B PhilHealth subsidy, Zaldy Co alleges

Former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co has revealed a series of major budget reductions amounting to P109.592 billion allegedly pursued by then-Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero—including the scrapping of the P74-billion subsidy for Phil-Health—during the 2025 Bicameral Conference Committee hearings.

- By ELLSON QUISMORIO

The budget cuts that hurt key sectors were mentioned in Co's letter to President Marcos in February 2025. The ex-Committee on Appropriations chairman recently shared a copy of the seven-page letter on his Facebook page.

Co first referenced the letter in one of his growing number of video exposés on the subject of budget insertions. In it, he laid out what he described as Escudero’s alleged “insistence” on redirecting funds toward its preferred allocations-including a push for a P200-billion share for the Senate.

Co later claimed that Escudero's alleged insertions were finalized at P150 billion, with an alleged threat of a reenacted budget for 2025 if the House did not agree with the Senate during the bicam hearings.

In that same letter to President Marcos, Co alleged that it was upon Escudero's suggestion that the P74-billion subsidy for PhilHealth was scrapped.

He also tagged Escudero as the one who allegedly led the move to slash P10 billion from the Department of Education's (DepEd) computerization program. "Due to DepEd's low utilization rate and in a desire to increase the sources of funds during the bicam, SP Chiz cut P10 billion from the agency's computerization program," Co said.