Privilege Speech of Senator Loren Legarda on the health fund gap, urging the passage of the PhilHealth Automatic Funding Act| Senate of the Philippines | February 3, 2026

Mr. President,

Sa ating bansa, isang karaniwang kuwento na kapag may nagkakasakit sa pamilya, apektado ang takbo ng buhay ng bawat miyembro, may kailangang mag‑overtime sa trabaho, may humihinto muna sa pag‑aaral, may nagtitipid sa pagkain para lang may maipambili ng gamot at pamasahe papunta sa ospital.

The fight for a just and equitable health system in the Philippines has never been easy. Today, it is a race against time, a test of whether this government still has the moral courage to protect the sick, the poor, and the most vulnerable Filipinos.

Ginawa natin ang Sin Tax Law at ang Universal Health Care Act para may maaasahang pinanggagalingan ng pondo at maayos na sistema sa kalusugan, at para hindi na kailangang mamili ang isang pamilyang Pilipino kung kanin o gamot, kung matrikula o ospital.

Yet today, as we confront continuing failures in the PhilHealth budget, we find ourselves once again defending the very foundations of these reforms while ordinary Filipinos are losing hope in a system that was supposed to protect them.

In my capacity as a member of this Chamber, I voted in favor of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the 2026 Budget, subject to serious reservations. My reservations arise from the National Government’s continued failure to remit PhilHealth’s legally mandated sin tax revenues and statutory shares from PCSO and PAGCOR. From 2023 to 2026 alone, the persistent underfunding of sin tax revenues legally dedicated to Universal Health Care has created a cumulative ₱113.44-billion gap, while an additional ₱106.95 billion in statutory shares from PCSO and PAGCOR remains unpaid. They directly affect the quality, the reach, and the reliability of health services for more than 112 million Filipinos. They signal a continuing failure to honor both the letter and the spirit of our health reform laws.

We also saw a stark example of how government decisions can fail our people in 2024, when the Department of Finance ordered the unconstitutional return of ₱60 billion in PhilHealth funds to the National Treasury, stripping the health system of resources that should have gone directly to patient care and public hospitals.

These are all a direct blow to the Universal Health Care Act. It delays the transition to an institutionally guaranteed zero out-of-pocket care framework and weakens the safety net that millions of Filipino families depend on in moments of illness, fear, and desperation.

On paper, buong populasyon ng Pilipinas ang sinasabing saklaw ng National Health Insurance Program. Ngunit sa totoong buhay, alam natin na marami pa ring hindi nakakatanggap ng sapat na tulong sa oras ng pangangailangan.

May nanay sa public hospital na pinipiling umuwi na lang dahil kulang ang pambayad kahit may PhilHealth card siya. May lolo na pinapahaba ang pagitan ng check‑up dahil iniipon pa ang pamasahe at pambayad sa laboratory. May batang hindi maipasok agad sa ospital dahil takot ang magulang sa posibleng bill, kahit may sinasabing coverage ang PhilHealth.

Ang layunin ng programa ay bawasan ang gastos mula sa bulsa at pigilan ang pagbulusok ng pamilya sa mas malalim na kahirapan dahil sa sakit.

Mr. President, kapag hindi ibinibigay, dini‑delay, o dinidivert ang pondong malinaw na nakalaan sa kalusugan, at napipilitan ang mga tao na mamalimos para sa serbisyong nakasaad na sa batas, hindi lang ito masamang pamamalakad, ito ay tahasang pang-aabuso sa pondo ng taumbayan at sa tiwalang ibinigay nila sa pamahalaan, para na rin nating sinasabi sa kanila: “Bahala muna kayo. Gamitin ninyo ang sarili ninyong kaunting ipon — kung meron.”

Isa pa sa nais kong pansinin ay ang Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients, o MAIFIP na nilikha para tulungan ang mga hindi kayang magbayad sa ospital. Pero sa praktis, napipilitan ang mga pasyente na mag‑ikot sa iba’t ibang tanggapan, magdala ng endorsements, at makiusap sa bawat confinement — sa halip na awtomatikong maprotektahan sa pamamagitan ng PhilHealth, gaya ng diwa ng Universal Health Care Law.

Hindi dapat nakikiusap ang mahirap para mabuhay. Hindi dapat namamalimos ang maysakit para magamot. Ang tungkulin natin bilang mambabatas at opisyal ng pamahalaan ay siguraduhin na kapag may sakit ang isang Pilipino, ang pupuntahan niya ay ospital at health center na may sapat na pondo at malinaw na tulong, hindi ang kawalan ng pag‑asa.

The Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients, or MAIFIP, weakens the spirit of the Universal Health Care Law and undermines PhilHealth’s mandate, which is why we must begin its gradual phase‑out and redirect its funds to PhilHealth. This will strengthen case rates, expand coverage across all social classes, and restore coherence to our health financing framework.

Mr. President,

Our responsibility does not end with the passage of the General Appropriations Act. It begins with the faithful execution of the laws we enact. We must closely monitor and evaluate the implementation of health programs by the Department of Health and all implementing agencies to ensure that approved appropriations translate into real services, real medicines, real hospital beds, and real protection for Filipino families. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust.

I have warned before and I will warn again. When agencies sit on their budgets or fail to implement them properly, families wait longer for health centers, patients are turned away from hospitals, and children lose access to life-saving treatment. Idle funds are not savings. They are lives put on hold, services denied, and opportunities taken from people who cannot afford to wait. This is why budget reform must be matched by institutional reform.

Dahil dito, sinusuportahan ko na ganap na paganahin at paigtingin ang trabaho ng Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Public Expenditures. Hindi ito para pakialaman ang araw‑araw na operasyon ng mga ahensya, kundi para bantayan kung ang pondong para sa kalusugan ay talagang nakararating sa mga institusyong dapat magserbisyo sa tao.

Its purpose is simple and principled: to guard the public purse, to ensure that legally mandated health funds are honored, and to protect the Filipino people from the silent erosion of their right to timely, affordable, and quality healthcare.

Ito rin ang dahilan kung bakit ko inihain ang Senate Bill No. 1662, ang PhilHealth Automatic Funding Act, na nag‑aamyenda sa Universal Health Care Act upang matiyak na awtomatikong mailalaan at mailalabas ang lahat ng pondong nakatalaga para sa PhilHealth.

Nililinaw rin ng panukalang batas na ito ang obligasyon ng BIR, PAGCOR, at PCSO na magsumite ng quarterly reports sa Kongreso at i-post ito sa kanilang mga website upang matiyak ang transparency at pananagutan.

Kapag matatag at malinaw ang daloy ng pondo, mas nagiging posible ang tunay na Universal Health Care, hindi lamang sa teksto na nakasulat sa batas, kundi sa aktuwal na karanasan ng mga pasyente sa barangay health stations, rural health units, at pampublikong ospital sa buong bansa.

The health of our people is not a side issue. It is a core pillar of human capital, economic resilience, and social stability. A country that cannot guarantee basic healthcare to its people cannot credibly speak of inclusive growth or justice.

Mr. President,
We must act now. We must insist that all legally due funds for PhilHealth and the entire health sector be fully remitted, transparently reported, and promptly utilized. And we must pass structural reforms that make compliance with the law automatic, not optional.

This serves as a direct warning to all officials of PhilHealth, the Department of Health, and any agency entrusted with public health funds: any form of abuse will not be tolerated. This Senate will ensure that all erring officials, those who authorize, defend, or tolerate misuse of health funds, will be held fully accountable under the law.
I call on this Chamber and all our partners in government to act decisively and without delay. We must stop hiding behind procedures and start delivering what the law already requires.

Ang usapin ng PhilHealth ay hindi lamang tungkol sa accounting o cash flow. Ito ay usapin ng buhay at kinabukasan ng mga Pilipino — lalo na ng mga mahihirap, mga matatanda, mga may kapansanan, at mga batang umaasa na sa oras ng sakit, hindi sila iiwan at tatalikuran ng kanilang gobyerno.

The struggle for Universal Health Care is not just a policy debate. It is a moral emergency, and it is a promise we must keep.

Thank you, Mr. President.