DOF respects SC’s TRO on transfer of PhilHeath’s idle funds

Manila: Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto said his office respects the Supreme Court’s (SC) temporary restraining order (TRO) on transferring the idle funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) worth PHP89.9 billion to finance other programs of the government.

‘We respect the Supreme Court’s intervention. As a public servant myself, I recognize the right of every citizen to seek redress from the courts. Rest assured that the DOF will fully comply with the order of the Supreme Court,’ Recto said in a statement Tuesday.

He pledged the DOF’s full cooperation with the SC and looks forward to clarifying the issues raised during oral arguments.

‘We reiterate that before proceeding with the utilization of GOCC (government-owned and -controlled corporations) idle funds, our agency exercised due diligence and consulted extensively with the government’s legal experts. These include the Governance Commission for GOCCs, the Government Corporate Counsel, and the Commission on Audit. The
se efforts were undertaken to ensure full compliance with our laws,’ Recto said.

He reiterated that the agency’s move to transfer the idle, unused, and excess funds of GOCCs is a mandate under the General Appropriations Act of 2024.

The DOF also earned support and favorable legal opinion that PhilHealth’s ‘unutilized government subsidies are not part of its reserve funds, nor income that is being restricted by the Universal Health Care Act to be used by the national government as a general fund.’

The DOF noted that the unused government subsidies to PhilHealth support various programs and projects, including unpaid allowances for health workers during the pandemic, this year’s Salary Standardization VI for government employees, the updated Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program, the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project, the Philippine Rural Development Project, the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project, and several major infrastructure initiatives under the Build Better Mo
re program.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) said the government will comply with the TRO.

‘It appears that the TRO is limited to PhilHealth funds only. We will respect the TRO,’ Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra told reporters.

He said the OSG is preparing to defend the government’s position during the scheduled oral arguments on the case on Jan. 14. (with a report from Benjamin Pulta/PNA)

Source: Philippines News Agency