The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) joins worker and health worker groups in the country in calling for a cancellation of the transfer of supposed excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the national treasury.

Given the pressing health needs of many indigent patients, many of whom are workers, PhilHealth’s supposed excess funds should not be transferred to the national tresury. These should go to improving and expanding PhilHealth’s coverage among workers and the poor.

The transfer of PhP 10 billion this August 21, which follows the transfer of PhP 20 billion last May, and the plan to transfer a total of PhP 89.9 billion to the national government must be stopped.

We understand Finance Secretary Ralph Recto’s clarification that the amount comes from the government’s subsidy to PhilHealth, not from members’ contributions. We are glad to hear his guarantee that the transfer will not in any way reduce PhilHealth’s services to its members.

We know, however, the deplorable situation faced by many indigent patients of the country’s hospitals. We know that for many workers and Filipinos, hospitalization is a financial death sentence. Many end up buried in debt and their only hope is the reduction in fees offered by PhilHealth.

The country’s health workers say that 44% of health expenses in the country come from the pockets of Filipino households. That is a huge percentage, especially given the high costs of health care in the country. Health workers are up in arms because they know that their patients have been suffering.

The government usually does not, and should not, take back subsidies to health and other social services. Health workers say that doing this violates the principles of an insurance system. We say that it violates the government’s role in providing social services – especially those, like health, that is denied to many.

If the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pushes through with the transfer, it is making itself vulnerable to accusations of not caring for workers and poor Filipinos, of mismanaging the country’s finances, and even of increasing its campaign kitty for the 2025 and future elections.

The Filipino workers and people are not new to politicians’ selfish and corrupt use of PhilHealth funds. We still remember how Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo used PhilHealth funds for her presidential campaign during the 2004 elections. We urge vigilance and collective action among workers and all Filipinos.