Senator JV Ejercito welcomed the Supreme Court’s order directing the government to return ₱60 billion to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation following the Court’s ruling that voided the transfer of the amount to the National Treasury.
“The return of the P60-Billion to PhilHealth is a welcome correction. From the very beginning, we made it clear that these funds belong to PhilHealth,” Ejercito said.
He said the funds should not have been considered “excess,” noting continuing gaps in health financing. “This should not been called ‘excess funds’ especially since there is still a shortage of funds for health. Many of our countrymen are still burdened with medical expenses or hospitalization,” he said.
Ejercito acknowledged the role of health advocates who raised concerns about the fund movement and said coordination among stakeholders remains important. “We need to come together to achieve our goal of improving health services in the country,” he said.
He added that the priority now is to ensure PhilHealth strengthens its participation in addressing members’ medical costs. “There are still so many things to fight for to ensure that Filipinos will have more access to our health care system,” he said.
Ejercito said access to health services should not depend on political discretion.
