Breaking: Supreme Court Returns the Loot, Declares the Looter ‘Employee of the Month’

Four Justices Issue Official Citation: “Best Execution of an Illegal Order, 2024”

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — December 9, 2025

MGA ka-kweba, citizens of this fever-dream republic, grab your PhilHealth cards and brace yourselves. There’s a new disease sweeping the nation: Judicial Whiplash Syndrome – the medical condition you get when the Supreme Court slaps you across the face with one hand and then gently caresses the same cheek with the other while whispering, “Shhh… good faith lang ‘yan.”

Just last week, the entire Supreme Court – unanimously – declared Special Provision 1(d) of the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and Department of Finance (DOF) Circular 003-2024 void ab initiol. Translation: Congress and the Executive tried to stage a legislative bank heist on Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) ₱60 billion in reserves, and the Court just screamed, “Hands off the cookie jar!” Article VI, Section 29(3) of the Constitution + Republic Act No. 11223 (Universal Health Care Act) + Sin Tax Law = those funds are sacrosanct. You don’t get to repurpose them just because you’re short on unprogrammed pork.

And then – in the same breath, in the same decision – four justices performed the most spectacular legal backflip since the invention of the phrase “operative fact doctrine.” They looked at Ralph Recto, the guy who signed the transfer orders, and said:

“Nothing to see here. Good faith. Ministerial duty. Clearances secured. Move along.”
Inquirer, 7 Dec. 2025

Allow me to introduce the newest judicial boy band:

The PhilHealth Four – Absolution Battalion

(Now streaming on all platforms of selective accountability)

Justice Raul Villanueva – “Just Doing His Job” Defense
Translation: the Nuremberg Defense, but make it bureaucratic.
According to Justice Villanueva, holding Recto liable would be like “punishing him for simply doing his job.” Really? So if Congress passes a law tomorrow saying, “Jump off the constitutional cliff,” the Finance Secretary is obligated to say “Gerónimo!” and execute a perfect swan dive?
Last time I checked, public officials swear to uphold the Constitution, not to treat every rider in the GAA like the Gospel of Budget.
Justice Ricardo Rosario – “Good Faith in a Void” Theory
His money quote: “The constitutional infirmity renders the provision void – but it does not render criminal those who were duty-bound to follow it.”
Ah yes, the classic “I was just following a law that violated three other laws and the Constitution” defense.
Question: when exactly did “good faith” become a magical cloak that turns technical malversation (a mala prohibita offense under Article 220, Revised Penal Code) into “oopsie daisy”? Because last time the Supreme Court checked – see [Ysidoro v. People (G.R. No. 192330, 2012)] – good faith is irrelevant. The crime is the illegal application of funds to a purpose other than that for which they were appropriated. Full stop.
Justice Rodil Zalameda – “Strictly Ministerial” Mirage
Moving ₱60 billion pesos is apparently just pushing a button labeled “Transfer to Treasury.” No discretion, no pause, no moment of “Wait, isn’t this the exact fund protected by the UHC Act?”
And of course, he cites the holy trinity of bureaucratic CYA: clearances from Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), Commission on Audit (COA), and Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GCG).
Translation: “I got three other agencies to sign the permission slip, so even if the field trip was to rob a hospital fund, it’s all good.”
Classic circular firing squad of responsibility – everyone signed, therefore no one is responsible.
Justice Samuel Gaerlan – Presumption of Innocence Overreach
He reminds us that public officers are not civilly liable absent bad faith, malice, or gross negligence.
Beautiful. Except we’re talking about criminal liability for technical malversation, not a civil tort case. And again, Ysidoro says intent doesn’t matter. But sure, let’s just preemptively declare innocence from the highest court in the land before the Office of the Ombudsman even opens a folder.
Is the Supreme Court now the Ombudsman’s Pre-Clearance Desk for well-connected officials?

***“Due diligence sold separately; clearance stamps included.”***

Meanwhile, Ralph Recto – the man who actually signed the order – is portrayed not as the Finance Secretary who should have known better, but as a hapless clerk who had no choice.
Bro, you were the Secretary of Finance, not an intern who accidentally hit “Send” on the memo. Due diligence isn’t just collecting clearance forms like Pokémon cards.

And Congress? Oh, Congress embedded this budgetary Trojan horse knowing full well it was circumventing the UHC Act and the constitutional protection of special funds. They didn’t just pick the lock – they used the General Appropriations Act as a crowbar.

But the real masterpiece? The Supreme Court press release.
In a move that would make any spin doctor weep with pride, the Court’s official briefer made sure to headline the non-binding separate opinions of the Fab Four absolving Recto, rather than, you know, the unanimous ruling that just declared a ₱60-billion heist unconstitutional.

This isn’t judicial clarification. This is spin jurisprudence – a new branch of law where the Court doesn’t just interpret the law, it manages the political fallout for the powerful.

Consequences? Oh, plenty.

You just turned technical malversation from a mala prohibita crime into “mala prohibita unless you have a Supreme Court fan club.”
You told every future finance secretary: “Go ahead, implement the unconstitutional rider. Worst case, four justices will write you a love letter disguised as a separate opinion.”
You taught the Filipino people a brutal lesson: the law may be void, but the powerful are void-proof.

Recommendations, with love:

To the Office of the Ombudsman: Ignore the judicial fan mail. Do your job. Investigate. The Supreme Court doesn’t get to issue advisory absolutions in press releases.
To Congress: Next time try passing a law that says, “This provision is constitutional because we say so, trust us bro,” and see how far that flies.
To the Filipino people: Remember this moment the next time any of these institutions lectures us about “rule of law” and “public trust.”

Because today, the Supreme Court didn’t just return ₱60 billion to PhilHealth.

It returned something far more valuable: proof that in this country, there are two kinds of justice – one for the law, and one for the people who break it in broad daylight.

Welcome to the Kweba. The air is thick with hypocrisy tonight.

– Barok