MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he wants the new head of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to focus on digitalization to further improve the services of the state health insurer.

The Philippine leader made the statement in a Palace briefing, a few days after he swore in US-trained doctor Edwin Mercado as the new president and CEO of PhilHealth.

“Kasi maganda naman ang serbisyo ng PhilHealth ngunit ‘yung pag-process ng mga file, ng claim, ng pag-apply, et cetera, ay hindi – kinakamay pa rin. Kaya’t napakabagal, and that’s why that became a priority,” he said.

(You see, PhilHealth has good services, but when they process files, claims and applications, not so much. They do it manually so it's very slow. That's why that became a priority)

New PhilHealth chief vows to heal agency from inefficiency, wastage

Marcos Jr. also noted that Mercado, who he said is “very well-versed in both hospital administration and insurance” has expressed many plans to expand and make more inclusive the services of PhilHealth.

“In a week’s time, bibigyan kita ng report much more detailed kung ano sa palagay ko ‘yung nakikita ko sa PhilHealth na puwedeng palitan, puwedeng palakihin, et cetera, et cetera,” he said.

(He told me that in a week's time, he will give a more detailed report of what can be replaced or expanded)

Mercado, in an earlier press briefing, likened PhilHealth to a sick patient, and vowed to cure its many illnesses, including issues of inefficiency and wastage.

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He replaces former PhilHealth President and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma, Jr., who Marcos Jr. said resigned from his position.

“Well, yes, he left his position already. Sabi niya that nahihirapan na rin yata siya sa ano, with all of the… Hindi siya sanay sa pulitika. Manny Ledesma is very much comes from the private sector. So, I think he found the transition to be jarring, shall we say,” he said.

(He said he was having trouble with... he's not used to politics)

PhilHealth came under fire in 2024 for having billions in unused funds, some of which was remitted to the Bureau of Treasury for use in other government programs. The transfer has been questioned at the Supreme Court.

Congress gave PhilHealth zero subsidy in 2025, with lawmakers saying it should be able to operate and provide services with its reserve funds. 

Although its government subsidy was cut, PhilHealth still has allocations in the national budget for its operations.