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The Philippine Star
December 16, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go has pressed fellow members of the bicameral conference committee to directly address what he described as a “double whammy” confronting the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. – zero allocation for the agency in the 2025 national budget and the decision to schedule the return of P60 billion in funds only in 2026.
Speaking during the bicameral meeting on the disagreeing provisions on House Bill 4058, Go underscored the consequences of these fiscal decisions on patients, hospitals and health care workers, while reiterating his long-standing call for transparency and public participation in the budget process.
“As you all know, I had my reservations on the bicam report of the 2025 budget. In fact, I did not sign the bicam report last year. Particularly, I am saddened by the zero budget given to PhilHealth,” Go said over the weekend.
He framed the situation as a compounded blow to the country’s public health insurer, drawing from his experience conducting multiple hearings related to health care financing and benefit delivery.
He recalled that as chair of the Senate health committee, he held 14 hearings in 2024, including one on the health emergency allowances of health care workers. From these hearings it was very clear that the PhilHealth’s counterpart funding was really lacking and the case rates are very low.
Go recounted how PhilHealth’s own actions in late 2024 demonstrated that higher case rates were feasible if decisive action had been taken earlier in the year. He pointed out that the belated increase only occurred after controversy had erupted.
He traced the sequence of events that followed, noting that the transfer of funds by the national treasury triggered alarm and eventually led to legal challenges.
He was also thankful for the Supreme Court decision on the return of PhilHealth funds.
Now as vice chair of the health committee as well as the finance committee, Go described that episode as concluded but emphasized that its repercussions continue to shape the current budget debate.
He questioned the decision to appropriate the refunded amount only in the 2026 budget cycle, pointing to the vacuum created by PhilHealth’s zero allocation in 2025.
This unresolved gap, he said, was a central reason for his refusal to sign the last bicameral report.
Go reiterated that budget decisions must ultimately be judged by their consequences for ordinary Filipinos, who rely on PhilHealth coverage during times of illness and medical crisis.
