SC orders return of P60B unused PhilHealth funds

The Supreme Court unanimously declared the transfer of P60 billion in unused PhilHealth funds to the national treasury as unconstitutional, ordering the funds to be returned.

The High Court permanently prohibited the transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion in supposedly unused PhilHealth funds and ordered the P60 billion already remitted to be returned through the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

PhilHealth views the Supreme Court's decision ordering the return of the P60 billion in excess funds as a challenge to improve its services and provide better health benefits for Filipinos.

PhilHealth spokesperson Israel Francis Pargas stated that they expect the P60 billion to be returned by next year after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. signs the 2026 national budget.

A health reform advocate urged the government to fully restore PhilHealth's depleted reserves, emphasizing that restitution must be complete, with interest, and clearly earmarked.

House Deputy Speaker and TUCP Rep. Party-list Raymond Democrito Mendoza stated that the SC ruling is a wake-up call for the government to urgently deliver genuine universal healthcare.