Kinuwestiyon ng Korte Suprema ang ilang financial records ng Philippine Health Insurance Corporation sa ikalawang oral arguments noong Martes, Pebrero 25.
Kung saan kabilang dito ang umano'y ₱816 bilyong deficit o utang ng PhilHealth at ang pag-transfer nito ng nasa ₱89.9 bilyong pondo sa national treasury.
PAGLIPAT NG ₱60 BILYONG "EXCESS FUNDS" NG PHILHEALTH SA NATIONAL TREASURY
Tinalakay ni Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier ang tungkol dito sa pagpapatuloy ng oral arguments kaugnay sa mga pondo ng PhilHealth.
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Tinanong ni Lazaro-Javier kay PhilHealth Senior Vice President Renato Limsiaco, Jr. kung alam ba ng ahensya ang tungkol sa pondong itrinansfer sa National Treasury.
“Has PhilHealth paid all the recorded and recognized claims before it transferred the funds to the Treasury?” tanong ni Lazaro-Javier.
Sagot ni Limsiaco, “Your honor, in a shorten cut off date, your honor, definitely hindi ho natin mababayaran lahat. Still at the hospital pa yung claims, your honor."
"Even those that have already been processed and are just waiting to be paid, have you paid them all before the funds were transferred to the Department of Finance?" tanong pa ng associate justice.
"In a given time, your honor, there should, we should still have claims na unpaid," sagot ng PhilHealth SVP.
"So not all were paid? And yet you transferred the funds already," saad ni Lazaro-Javier.
Sa madaling sabi, bago mailipat ang ₱60 bilyong excess fund sa National Treasury, na-record na umano ng PhilHealth ang unpaid claims ng mga ospital, mga doktor, at kanilang miyembro.
Sa datos ng DOF, sa ₱60 bilyong pondo, ₱46.61 bilyong pondo ang napunta sa health and social services; ₱27.45 bilyon naman ang ginamit upang mabayaran ang "long-overdue Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care and Non-Healthcare Workers" na nagtrabaho noong panahon ng COVID-19; ₱3.37 bilyon para makapagpatayo ng tatlong pasilidad ng Department of Health (DOH); ₱1.69 bilyon para sa health facilities enhancement program; at ₱13 bilyon para sa infrastructure projects upang mapahusay ang healthcare access sa mga remote area.
Ang umano'y ₱816 bilyong utang ng PhilHealth
Sa 2021 financial statement ng PhilHealth na in-audit ng Commission on Audit (COA), makikita na mayroong ₱1,163,491,192,132 (₱1.16 trillion) liabilities o bayarin sa mga benepisyo ang ahensya, habang nasa ₱347,482,993,700 (₱347 billion) ang assets nito, kung kaya't lumalabas na ₱816,008,198,432 (₱816 billion) deficit o utang ng ahensya.
Bagama't may mga hindi pa nabayarang utang at na-transfer na ang pondo, sinabi ni Limsiaco na may kapasidad ang PhilHealth para magpatuloy ng kanilang operasyon.
"On the ongoing concern on the corporation, I can say the corporation has the capacity to continue its operations, your honor, given that the corporation has investment portfolio enough to cover the requirements of the corporation in terms of benefit payments," saad ng PhilHealth SVP.
Gayunman, sinabi ni Lazaro-Javier na maaaring higit pa sa ₱816 billion ang deficit ng PhilHealth dahil aniya hindi "fairly present" ang financial position ng ahensya sa financial statment nito.
"Financial statements do not present fairly the financial position of PhilHealth. In short, the negative equity of PhilHealth may be more than ₱816 billion. Even if you double up your assets, they're not enough to pay off your liabilities," aniya.
Samantala, base sa 2022 financial statement ng PhilHealth, bumaba sa ₱26,043,017,000 (₱26 billion) ang deficit nito.
ANG ₱89.9 BILYONG PONDO NG PHILHEALTH NA INILIPAT SA NATIONAL TREASURY
Kinuwestiyon ng associate justice ang halos ₱89.9 bilyong reserve funds ng PhilHealth na inilipat sa National Treasury.
Ayon kay Lazaro-Javier, inilipat ng PhilHealth ang naturang pondo, na nakalaan para sa healthcare, patungo sa unprogrammed appropriations sa 2024 national budget kagaya ng "infrastructure projects, military modernization, at peace process initiatives."
“It is a fact that money was taken, billions, in fact ₱89 billion. Although a little was restrained by the government, by the SC. So that’s the fact that billions of pesos were taken from the reserved funds of PhilHealth," saad niya kung saan tinutukoy niya ang inisyung temporary restraining order (TRO) ng Korte Suprema laban sa paglipat ng pondo ng ahensya sa National Treasury.
Dagdag pa niya, “For the construction of a bridge that has not even started and that has been funded many times over? And a right of way that is already funded… by billions, and maintenance of roads that is already funded by billions under the GAA?”
Ang tinutukoy naman dito ni Lazaro-Javier ay ang Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Island Bridges Project na pinondohan ng ₱174 bilyon ng Export-Import Bank ng Korea. Aniya, nakakuha raw ito ng karagdagang pondo noong 2022 at 2023.
Samantala, magaganap ang susunod na oral argument sa Marso 4, 2025.
