MANILA — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) bared on Wednesday the list of projects that would be funded by the excess funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth) and other Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) despite the backlash over the mandated fund transfer.

PhilHealth is in the process of remitting a total of P89.9 billion worth of government subsidies back to the Bureau of Treasury after these were tagged as idle funds that could be put to better use.

The Department of Finance (DOF) also earlier cited the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation as another GOCC that has billions in unused funds which need to be remitted--P110 billion, to be exact.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said these will be used to finance 11 priority programs under unprogrammed appropriations worth P203 billion, which she described as also “important”.

The programs are as follows:

* Government counterpart of foreign-assisted projects (P51.7 billion)
* Personnel benefits (P27.6 billion)
* Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care and Non-healthcare Workers (P27.7 billion)
* NEDA-PSA: Community-Based Monitoring System (P3.6 billion)
* Payment of right-of-way (P3 billion)
* Maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities (routine maintenance of national roads) - P6 billion
* Proposed Salary Standardization Law VI (P40 billion)
* Fiscal support arrearages for Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program (P415 million)
* Support to Barangay Development Program of NTF-ELCAC (P6.5 billion)
* Department of Public Works and Highway’s various projects (P26.6 billion)
* Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (P10 billion)

Health workers groups and even the labor union of PhilHealth, along with public budget analysts, have been protesting the fund transfer ordered by the DOF for its supposed illegality.

They also believe that the excess funds of PhilHealth should be utilized to expand the state insurer’s coverage.

But Pangandaman pointed out that the PhilHealth fund transfer also still benefitted health workers, specifically those who served during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pinakaunang nilabas po natin diyan sa unprogrammed appropriations, it was used to pay the balance of health emergency allowance. That’s more than P27 billion which is also necessary. May nagra-rally din po sa’min nung mga nakaraang buwan dahil dyan sa health emergency (allowance) na yan that haven’t been paid for the longest time,” said Pangandaman, during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay News Forum.

She also echoed the earlier pronouncements of DOF Secretary Ralph Recto that the fund transfers are aboveboard.

“We’re just following what is in the General Appropriations Act. We’re just following what’s in the law,” she said.

PhilHealth says fund transfer excluded contributions of paying members

Recto defends transfer of nearly P90 billion in 'idle' PhilHealth funds

RELATED VIDEO