MANILA – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) said their around P137.7-million spending for a yearlong celebration of their 30th anniversary followed government guidelines.
The state health insurer’s statement was in response to a post by health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon, who questioned the proposed expense in light of criticism against the for having supposedly idle funds.
In Leachon’s post, he said that PhilHealth allocated P3.5 million for the production and publication of a coffee table book, P6.8 million for newspaper features, and more than P17 million for gala nights at its central office and at regional offices.
In response, PhilHealth said the breakdown of expenses Leachon posted was “not yet final” and that activities planned for 2025 will benefit staff, stakeholders “and more importantly our members.”
“The approved activities are reasonable, budgeted following existing limits set by the government and will be procured under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Act,” the state health insurer said.
PhilHealth added that it has cancelled some activities and donated the savings in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive for agencies to avoid lavish celebrations in light of the impact of recent typhoons on millions of Filipinos.
“PhilHealth assures the public that it is committed to transparency and prudence in the stewardship of the member’s funds,” said Philhealth, which “reminded” Leachon to be “more responsible and cautious” about his social media posts.
PhilHealth has been under fire for the transfer of close to P90 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury for reallocation to other government projects, a move whose legality has been questioned at the Supreme Court./PN
