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Congressional Christmas Miracle: “Soft Pork” Dressed as Santa’s Charity Sack for the Holidays

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Louis ‘Barok’ Biraogo

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Congressional Christmas Miracle: “Soft Pork” Dressed as Santa’s Charity Sack for the Holidays
The Patronage Waltz: Endorsements, Utang na Loob, and the Eternal Dance of Dependency

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — December 21, 2025

AYY, the season of giving. While Filipinos scramble for last-minute noche buena on a budget, Senate President Tito Sotto and his bicameral elves stuff the 2026 national budget with P51.6 billion for Department of Health’s (DOH) Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and P63.8 billion for Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS)—bloated far beyond Malacañang’s modest proposals. What a heartwarming gift: politicians’ favorite “soft pork,” rebranded as charity just in time for Christmas, with the enrolled bill landing on President Marcos’ desk right before the new year. Nothing says holiday spirit like rushing a P6.793-trillion spending spree while the public is distracted by carols and traffic.

Sotto trots out his defense like a tired vaudeville act: “Safeguards are in place!” Funds download directly to hospitals, no more mandatory guarantee letters, politicians barred from distribution. Critics should “review the provisions carefully” instead of “immediately criticizing,” he scolds. Brilliant. Because nothing screams transparency like politicians still being allowed to “endorse” patients—speeding up access with a wink and a nod, cultivating that sweet utang na loob for 2028.

This isn’t inefficiency; it’s sabotage. Why invent a parallel health slush fund next to Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the legally mandated single insurer? Because direct hospital downloads don’t erase the patronage game—patients still beg “endorsements” from congressmen to cut the red tape everyone knows exists. And AICS? A P63.8-billion catch-all for crisis aid that’s been a patronage playground for years. Sotto calls it temporary relief for decongesting hospitals. Spare us the nobility—it’s a deliberate bypass of institutional reform, keeping health access tied to political favors instead of rights.

“Caroling congressmen: ‘We wish you a speedy endorsement, we wish you a photo-op, we wish you a 2028 memory lapse!’”

The Cynical Playbook: Who’s Naughty, Who’s Nice (Spoiler: Everyone’s Naughty)

Let’s decode the playbook, shall we?

For Sotto and the resurgent Macho Bloc—fresh off reclaiming Senate power amid the flood control apocalypse—this is damage control on steroids. After the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) scandal exploded with ghost projects and the mysterious, tragic death of ex-Undersecretary Catalina Cabral (found fallen in Benguet just days ago, right before she could spill more beans), they need to look “clean.” Boost “humanitarian” aid, slap on paper safeguards, and distract from the infrastructure corruption fires still raging. It’s also prime war chest building for 2028—discretionary billions disguised as compassion.

Malacañang plays both sides brilliantly: publicly demanding scrutiny while desperately needing the budget passed to avoid a reenacted nightmare. Remember impounding P60 billion from PhilHealth in 2024? The Supreme Court slapped that down just weeks ago on December 5, ordering it returned and affirming PhilHealth’s primacy. Was that impoundment a sly justification for MAIFIP’s existence—starve the insurer, then create a politician-friendly alternative?

And critics like Tony Leachon? The man’s a technocratic hero, a relentless gadfly exposing how this fragments health financing and invites mismanagement. He’s right: abolish MAIFIP, fold everything into PhilHealth. But in this rotten system, his voice is the rare sane one amid the circus.

Legal Evisceration: Where the “Safeguards” Go to Die Laughing

Time for the legal scalpel—this is where the farce crumbles.

Start with Belgica v. Ochoa (2013), the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) slayer that declared congressional post-enactment meddling unconstitutional—violating separation of powers. Sotto claims “direct downloads” fix it? Laughable. If a politician’s “endorsement” still greases the wheels for faster access, that’s de facto intervention. The spirit of Belgica dies not with a bang, but with these legalistic loopholes politicians exploit like pros.

Then the fresh Supreme Court bombshell—December 5, 2025: Unanimously ordering the P60 billion back to PhilHealth, prohibiting further transfers, and voiding provisions that raided reserves. The Court reaffirmed PhilHealth’s reserve mandates under the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law and sin tax rules. Bloating MAIFIP to P51.6 billion while PhilHealth gets a measly P130 billion total (including the returned funds)? That’s open defiance, creating the exact fragmentation the ruling condemns.

RA 11223, the Universal Health Care Act? It mandates pooled, integrated funding through PhilHealth as the national purchaser—no parallel streams. MAIFIP is a statutory abomination, a legislative tumor sabotaging UHC’s vision of rights-based, efficient coverage.

And don’t forget RA 6713, the ethical code banning “epal” credit-grabbing and demanding political neutrality. The whole setup—politicians endorsing aid, taking photo-ops—is systemic violation dressed as benevolence.

Shadow Play: Floods, Falls, and Future Election Slush Funds

The shadow play reeks: The flood control scandal’s toxic haze—billions in ghost projects, Cabral’s suspicious death amid probes—forces Sotto’s “transparent” posture. And those inflated AICS/MAIFIP pots? Plain slush funds for 2028, charity-washed to dodge Belgica’s ghost.

Demands & Recommendations: Ho Ho No – Time to Coal These Clowns

Enough.

President Marcos: Grow a spine and line-item veto these MAIFIP and AICS bloatations. Be the reformer you campaign as, or admit you’re just another patron in the machine.

Supreme Court: Critics like Tony Leachon, health advocates, opposition lawmakers—file those petitions for certiorari now. Drag this abomination to the Court and force it to finish what Belgica started: slay this “soft pork” mutant once and for all.

To the public: This is PDAF resurrected as “health aid”—your money repackaged for political debt. Demand outrage, not gratitude.

The only real safeguard? Abolish MAIFIP outright. Fold every peso into PhilHealth with ironclad anti-patronage rules. Anything less is betrayal.

Ho ho ho, indeed.

Merry Christmas, mga ka-kweba: the pork didn’t die, it just morphed into “medical assistance.” Ho ho holy shit,

—Barok

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Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo

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