Lacson Asks: Why Did Senate and House Allow Illegal P74B Realignment of PhilHealth Subsidy in 2025 GAA?
August 12, 2025
Lacson Asks: Why Did Senate and House Allow Illegal P74B Realignment of PhilHealth Subsidy in 2025 GAA?
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https://pinglacson.net/2025/08/12/lacson-asks-why-did-senate-and-house-allow-the-illegal-p74b-realignment-of-philhealth-subsidy-in-2025-gaa/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0z_RIWSqI8
Why did lawmakers allow the scrapping of P74 billion for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) when they knew it was illegal?
Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson raised this question on Monday as he noted the realignment of the P74 billion in the GAA effectively amended the Sin Tax Law, violating the principle that a general law cannot amend a special law.
"(The) GAA is a general law. And the sin tax law is a special law. And any lawyer will tell you, or any member of Congress will tell you that a general law cannot amend a special law. In other words, what the Senate did and what the House did was illegal," Lacson, an eagle-eyed watchdog of the budget, said in his interjection of Sen. JV Ejercito's privilege speech about the Universal Health Care Act.
He was referring to the realignment of the P74 billion in PhilHealth funds to other items in the 2025 GAA, resulting in the Philhealth having zero subsidy for 2025 under the 2025 budget.
Ejercito, upon questioning by Lacson, said the PhilHealth fund was slashed to P43 billion in the Senate version, and totally scrapped in the bicameral conference committee.
Lacson noted that both Houses should not have allowed this because the GAA being a general law cannot amend a special law, which is the Sin Tax law, under which the P74 billion was earmarked.
"Paano nakalusot ito sa House, may abogado doon? Sa Senate may mga abogado, paano nakalusot na effectively in-amend ng GAA ang special law (The House and the Senate have lawyers, so how did this slip through them, effectively allowing a general law to amend a special law)?" he said.
Earlier, Lacson said it is clear that under the PhilHealth Act as amended and the Universal Health Care Act, excess PhilHealth funds are to be used to increase the benefits of members or to lower their premium.
Lacson is also pushing for the participation of the public in the budget process, including the bicameral conference committee, having filed a bill to the effect.
Tanong ni Lacson: Bakit Pumayag ang Senado at Kamara sa Ilegal na P74B Realignment ng PhilHealth Subsidy sa 2025 GAA?
More at:
https://pinglacson.net/2025/08/12/lacson-asks-why-did-senate-and-house-allow-the-illegal-p74b-realignment-of-philhealth-subsidy-in-2025-gaa/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0z_RIWSqI8
Bakit pumayag ang mga mambabatas sa pagtanggal sa P74 bilyon para sa Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) sa 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) kung alam nilang ilegal ito?
Ito ang tanong ni Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson Lunes ng hapon, matapos niya idiin na ang pag-realign ng P74 bilyon ay lumabag sa Sin Tax Law, at sa prinsipyong hindi maaaring amyendahan ng general law ang special law.
"(The) GAA is a general law. And the sin tax law is a special law. And any lawyer will tell you, or any member of Congress will tell you that a general law cannot amend a special law. In other words, what the Senate did and what the House did was illegal," ani Lacson, na tagabantay ng kaban ng bayan, sa kanyang interjection sa privilege speech ni Sen. JV Ejercito tungkol sa Universal Health Care Act.
Tinukoy ni Lacson ang pag-realign ng P74 bilyon sa pondo ng PhilHealth sa ibang items sa 2025 GAA, kung kaya't zero subsidy ang PhilHealth para sa 2025.
Sa pagtatanong ni Lacson, ibinunyag ni Ejercito na P43 bilyon ang natira sa PhilHealth fund sa Senate version, at tuluyang nawala matapos dumaan sa bicameral conference committee.
Ani Lacson, hindi dapat pinayagan ng Senado at Kamara ito dahil ang GAA na general law ay hindi pwedeng mag-amyenda ng special law tulad ng Sin Tax law, kung saan nakalaan ang P74 bilyon.
"Paano nakalusot ito sa House, may abogado doon? Sa Senate may mga abogado, paano nakalusot na effectively in-amend ng GAA ang special law?" tanong ni Lacson.
Binanggit na ni Lacson noon pa na sa ilalim ng PhilHealth Act as amended at Universal Health Care Act, ang sobrang pondo ng PhilHealth ay gagamitin para pataasin ang benepisyo ng miyembro nito, o kaya ibaba ang premium nila.
Itinutulak din ni Lacson ang pakikilahok ng publiko sa budget process, kabilang ang bicameral conference committee. Naghain na siya ng panukala para rito.
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