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Executive Overreach on Life Support: ₱60B PhilHealth Raid Dies Quietly as OSG Waves the White Flag of Surrender

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Louis ‘Barok’ Biraogo

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Executive Overreach on Life Support: ₱60B PhilHealth Raid Dies Quietly as OSG Waves the White Flag of Surrender
OSG’s Elegant Exit: From Fierce Defender to Master of the Graceful Fold

By Louis “Barok” C. Biraogo — December 30, 2025

HMNN.., the bitter taste of defeat swallowed with a smile. Just as the Department of Finance (DOF) and Malacañang thought they’d executed the slickest fiscal sleight-of-hand—swiping ₱60 billion in “excess” reserves from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to fuel unprogrammed appropriations—the Supreme Court (SC) crashes the party like an uninvited conscience, demanding the loot back and slamming the door on future grabs. Then, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), ever the loyal government mouthpiece, issues a pious declaration of “respect” for the ruling and vows no appeal. Unity under the Constitution, they intone (Inquirer, 26 Dec. 2025). But make no mistake: this is a masterclass in strategic capitulation, cloaked in deference.

DOF: ‘It’s just idle cash!’ — PhilHealth patients: ‘So are our heartbeats?’

The Audacious Raid: How They Tried to Pull It Off

It started innocently enough—or so they’d have you believe. The DOF, led by then-Secretary (now Executive Secretary) Ralph Recto, brandishes DOF Circular No. 003-2024, invoking a shadowy Special Provision 1(d) in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Abracadabra: ₱89.9 billion in PhilHealth’s vaguely defined “fund balance” morphs into treasury playmoney. PhilHealth coughs up ₱60 billion in installments, while petitioners howl. The SC slaps a temporary restraining order on the rest, and on December 5, 2025, unleashes a unanimous verdict: Return the cash, nullify the provision and circular, and hands off the reserves—permanently.

This wasn’t prudent “fiscal optimization.” It was classic executive overreach—a desperate lunge at a trust fund sacred to Filipinos’ health. The administration peddled it as reallocating “idle” billions for urgent infrastructure and social needs, sans new taxes or debt. Sounds heroic, until you peek under the hood: PhilHealth reserves are no general slush fund. Section 11 of Republic Act No. 11223, the Universal Health Care Act (UHC Act), mandates reserves covering up to two years’ projected expenses, invested solely for future health needs—with explicit prohibition on transfers to the national government.

Layer on revenues from sin taxes, earmarked exclusively for health under related laws, and Article VI, Section 29(3) of the 1987 Constitution, which treats special-purpose taxes as untouchable trust funds. The SC brandished the Germaneness Rule like a flaming sword: GAA riders can’t sneakily repeal substantive statutes. That ambiguous provision? A forbidden implied repeal of the UHC Act—pure grave abuse of discretion. This decision doesn’t just resolve one case; it erects a constitutional bulwark around GOCC funds like GSIS and SSS, reinforcing judicial review over budgetary shenanigans.

OSG’s “Noble” Surrender: Damage Control or Legal Realism?

Fast-forward to the OSG’s solemn statement: No motion for reconsideration. Branches may clash on policy, but we’re one big happy family under the 1987 Constitution. Heartwarming—until you crunch the odds. A 15-0 smackdown? An MR would be quixotic folly, squandering resources for a near-certain, humiliating denial. Letting the ruling go final and executory seals the coffin swiftly, dodging prolonged spectacle—especially with murmurs of technical malversation charges hovering like storm clouds. (Four Justices kindly noted Recto’s “good faith,” but why tempt fate?)

Election shadows loom large too—2025 midterms breathing down necks. This saga reeked of political toxicity: accusations of pilfering health funds (including sin tax earmarks) from a supposedly “inefficient” agency, while Filipinos queue for basic coverage. The original ploy? Convenient cash from a low-profile target for flashy projects. The hasty retreat? Textbook face-saving, shielding the administration’s “unity” facade from pre-poll inferno.

The Reckoning: Winners, Losers, and a Gaping Fiscal Wound

Consequences hit hard: A ₱60 billion treasury black hole, to be plugged via the 2026 GAA—likely slashing flood control or other priorities. Delays ripple, borrowing ticks up—all for a gambit that flouted safeguards. Victors: The SC, cementing its role as constitutional sentinel; PhilHealth’s fund integrity preserved (now compelled to expand benefits and debunk “idle” myths). Vanquished: DOF, rebuked for hubris; rider-sneaking legislators; and the OSG, its “defender of the Republic” aura slightly scuffed by this calculated fold.

This episode echoes eternal Philippine power struggles: Executive probing fiscal loopholes, Congress abetting via riders, Judiciary yanking the leash. Public trust? The “unity” rhetoric clashes with widespread views of a botched health fund heist.

Barok’s No-Nonsense Prescriptions for the Power Players

  1. To the Executive: Quit eyeing special funds as your emergency piggy bank. Crave “fiscal space”? Hike real revenues or axe sacred cows—not plunder health trusts. And Palace: Own the overreach; skip the spin.
  2. To Congress: Scrub the GAA of nocturnal riders repealing core laws. Crave UHC tweaks? Draft standalone bills, debate openly, and wear the electoral scars.
  3. To PhilHealth: Funds restored? Prove your worth. Boost packages—more dialysis, cancer care, zero out-of-pocket emergencies. Silence inefficiency critics, or invite genuine overhaul.
  4. To the OSG (Extra Jab): Prudent bows are fine when law screams defeat. But defending the Republic demands battling worthy fights—not just sure wins.

Another chapter closed in our governance circus: Ambition, admonition, abdication. Onward to the next caper.

Case closed, wallets (temporarily) safe. Keep your eyes on the Palace, folks—the heist planners never really retire.

–Barok

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Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo

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