MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) en banc has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the transfer of the P89.9-billion excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the national treasury.
According to SC spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting, PhilHealth can no longer transfer the remaining P29.9 billion funds after previously moving around P60 billion to the national treasury.
“The Supreme Court issued a TRO to enjoin the further transfer of PhilHealth funds to the national treasury, effective immediately,” Ting said.
Ting, however, clarified that the P60 billion that was previously transferred by PhilHealth to the national treasury was not part of the TRO filed to the SC.
The first petition against the PhilHealth fund transfer was filed in August by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and the Philippine Medical Association, among others.
This was followed by another petition from the 1SAMBAYAN Coalition, headed by retired SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares and other members on October 16.
Ting said the SC en banc directed the respondents in the petition of the 1SAMBAYAN coalition to file their comments, while oral arguments have been set in January 2025.
PhilHealth and the Department of Finance said they respect the decision of the high court to issue a TRO for the fund transfer.
“We respect and fully abide by the decision. We remain focused on our mission to provide all Filipinos with adequate financial protection against health risks through better and responsive benefit packages and availment policies that ensure greater access to healthcare services whenever and wherever they need them most,” PhilHealth president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said.
“We give our full cooperation to the SC as we look forward to the opportunity to shed light on the issues resented during the oral arguments. With this honorable platform, we trust that all issues will be addressed once and for all,” stated Finance secretary Ralph Recto./PN
