08/12/2025
Long read, but let's learn how things work in our Congress and Senate. Why our country keeps going round and round in circles.
My bottom question: Why did Philhealth let its money "lay idle" til it became the target of "greedy eyes"?
🟥 The PhilHealth Money Trail: Why We're Blaming the Wrong People
[An MCT Commentary]
There's something off about how we're telling the PhilHealth story.
P60 billion transferred from health funds to the national treasury. The Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional. Everyone wants someone's head. And the name they keep shouting is Ralph Recto.
Recto should resign. Recto committed plunder. Recto malversed our health funds.
But here's what's not getting enough attention: Recto didn't write the law. He just followed it.
🟥 Who Actually Wrote the Rules?
Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio tried to redirect us. During the oral arguments, he named names. Specifically, one name: Congressman Joey Salceda.
Salceda is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Back in November 2023, he filed a bill proposing that excess funds from government corporations like PhilHealth could be used for unprogrammed appropriations.
This wasn't new for him. Since 2020, Salceda has been saying PhilHealth has too much money just sitting around. In July 2024, he publicly supported taking what he called PhilHealth's "idle" funds.
His bill passed. It became part of the 2024 budget law.
🟥 The Bicameral Black Box
But here's where it gets interesting.
The final provision that became law—Special Provision 1(d) of the 2024 General Appropriations Act—wasn't in the original House version. It wasn't in the Senate version either.
It appeared during the bicameral conference committee. That's the closed-door meeting where senators and congressmen reconcile their budget differences.
Senate President Chiz Escudero was there. House Speaker Martin Romualdez was there.
The provision emerged. Nobody knows exactly who inserted what. Walang minutes. Walang transparency.
And that provision? The Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional from the start.
🟥 Recto's Role: More Than Just Following Orders
When Recto signed Department of Finance Circular 003-2024 on February 27, 2024, he set in motion the transfer of P89.9 billion from PhilHealth.
The law gave him authority. The Office of Government Corporate Counsel said it was legal. The Governance Commission for GOCCs agreed. Even the Commission on Audit gave the green light.
But legal clearance doesn't equal good judgment.
Recto didn't just implement the provision—he defended it. Called it "common sense." Said it was fiscally responsible. When people questioned the transfer, he doubled down.
Four Supreme Court justices later said he had no criminal liability. That he acted in good faith.
But "no criminal liability" isn't the same as "did nothing wrong."
He had the power to question. To challenge. To ask whether a provision that violated the Universal Health Care Act should really be implemented just because Congress said so.
He didn't.
"The Executive merely complied with the congressional mandate," Recto said.
That's his defense. But it's incomplete.
That defense only works if you believe cabinet secretaries are powerless robots who must implement whatever Congress passes, constitutional or not.
They're not.
🟥 So Why Does Everyone Want Recto's Head?
Because his name is on the document.
Because he defended it. Called it "common sense." Said it was fiscally responsible.
Because when Cardinal David criticized the transfer, when Dr. Tony Leachon demanded answers, when people felt betrayed—Recto was the face of that betrayal.
And they're not wrong to be angry.
Recto wasn't just a passive implementer. He was an active defender of the transfer. When criticized, he didn't say "I'm bound by law but have concerns." He said it made sense.
That's not just following orders. That's ownership.
Kasi visible siya. Kasi siya yung nag-sign.
But if the Supreme Court ruled that the provision itself was unconstitutional—that it violated the Universal Health Care Act, that it contradicted sin tax laws, that it was a "rider" with no business being in the budget—then the problem didn't start with Recto's signature.
It started in Congress.
🟥 The Pattern We Keep Missing
This is how accountability dies in the Philippines.
We focus on the executors and forget the authors.
We see the person signing the paper, and we miss the people who wrote it behind closed doors.
Salceda filed a bill. The bicameral committee—Escudero, Romualdez, and others—shaped it into law. President Marcos signed it. Recto implemented it.
At which point did it become wrong? The Supreme Court says: at the beginning.
The provision was unconstitutional. Period.
Which means the people who created that provision, who negotiated it in that closed-door bicameral conference, who voted for it—they're the ones who set this whole thing in motion.
🟥 What Salceda Says
When Carpio named him, Salceda responded. He said he filed a bill, not a provision. That the budget committees have discretion on what to include. That what became law might be different from what he proposed.
Technically true. But also incomplete.
Yes, the final provision might differ from his original bill. But he authored the concept. He advocated for it loudly, repeatedly, for years.
He wanted PhilHealth's excess funds freed up. He got what he wanted.
Does he get to wash his hands now because the bicameral committee changed some words?
🟥 The Honest Answer
All of them are accountable.
Recto didn't just implement—he defended it, owned it, and used his credibility as Finance Secretary to legitimize a transfer the Supreme Court would later call unconstitutional. He had the expertise and authority to push back. He chose not to.
Salceda authored the idea. Pushed for it. Shaped the conversation that made it seem reasonable to raid PhilHealth funds.
The bicameral conference committee—Escudero, Romualdez, and whoever else was in that room—crafted the final provision that the Supreme Court called unconstitutional.
All of them are accountable. But right now, only Recto is facing the heat.
That's the problem.
Not that Recto shouldn't be held accountable—he absolutely should.
But that the others are getting away clean.
🟥 Why This Matters
If we only blame Recto, we learn nothing.
We don't fix the process that allows unconstitutional provisions to be inserted in bicameral conferences with no public scrutiny.
We don't hold accountable the legislators who vote for budgets they haven't fully read.
We don't ask why Salceda, who knew PhilHealth's funds were supposed to be for health care, thought it was okay to redirect them.
And next year, when another questionable provision appears in another bicameral report, when someone else signs another circular, we'll do this all over again.
Different names. Same pattern.
🟥 What Justice Carpio Was Trying to Say
When Carpio named Salceda, he wasn't letting Recto off the hook.
He was saying: trace it back. Find where it started. Don't just blame the person holding the pen at the end.
Because if we keep blaming only the executors, the authors will keep writing bad laws.
🟥 So, Is It Wrong to Blame Recto?
No. He should answer for his role. For implementing something without fighting harder to verify its constitutionality. For defending it as "common sense" when it violated the people's right to health. For using his position to legitimize what the Supreme Court would call unconstitutional.
But is it wrong that we're only blaming Recto while Salceda, Escudero, and Romualdez face less scrutiny?
Yes. Absolutely yes.
The Supreme Court didn't just say Recto's implementation was wrong. It said the law itself was unconstitutional.
That's a Congress problem. A legislative problem. A problem that started long before Recto signed anything.
🟥 What We Should Be Asking
Who was in that bicameral conference room?
Who drafted the final language of Special Provision 1(d)?
Who voted yes without reading it?
Did Salceda know the final provision would be unconstitutional? If yes, why didn't he speak up? If no, shouldn't he have checked?
Did Escudero and Romualdez understand what they were approving?
Kasi if they didn't, that's negligence. If they did, that's worse.
🟥 The Bigger Picture
The PhilHealth scandal isn't just about P60 billion.
It's about a system where bad laws can be born in closed-door meetings, passed without proper scrutiny, implemented by bureaucrats following orders, and then blamed entirely on the last person in the chain.
It's about how we let legislators hide behind executive officials.
It's about how we make it easy for Congress to dodge accountability by pointing at the Cabinet secretary who merely followed their mandate.
Recto has to answer for his role. But so does Congress.
And if we don't hold all of them accountable—if we keep letting the authors disappear while the executors take all the heat—we're just asking for this to happen again.
🟥 What I Keep Coming Back To
There's a reason Justice Carpio went out of his way to name Salceda.
There's a reason he talked about tracing the provision, finding the mastermind, looking beyond the signature.
Because he knows how this game works.
He knows that if only Recto takes the fall, Congress will learn nothing. They'll keep inserting questionable provisions in bicameral conferences. They'll keep passing the buck to the executive branch.
And PhilHealth members—millions of Filipinos who paid into a system meant to protect them—will keep getting shortchanged by a government that can't even figure out who's actually responsible.
That's the real scandal.
Not just the P60 billion.
But the fact that we still haven't learned to ask the right questions.
🟥 Sources:
1. Recto says he respects SC ruling to have P60B PhilHealth fund returned, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2151293/fwd-es-recto-on-philhealth-funds
2. Bogus 'plunder' narrative against Recto, https://opinion.inquirer.net/187981/bogus-plunder-narrative-against-recto
3. Palace respects SC order to restore P60-B PhilHealth fund, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1264690
4. David on Philhealth case: No to another robbery, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2151792/david-on-philhealth-case-no-to-another-robbery
5. SC justices: Recto has no criminal liability in PhilHealth fund transfer, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2151731/4-sc-justices-recto-has-no-criminal-liability-in-philhealth-fund-transfer
6. Economist and former lawmaker Joey Salceda believes that newly appointed Executive Secretary, https://www.facebook.com/BrigadaPhilippines/posts/economist-and-former-lawmaker-joey-salceda-believes-that-newly-appointed-execu
7. ES Recto can liaise with main political actors – Salceda, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1263531
8. 'PhilHealth mafia pocketed P15 billion', https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/08/05/2033035/philhealth-mafia-pocketed-p15-billion-
9. SC: Gov't must return P60B to PhilHealth, transfer violates UHCA, https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/12/05/2492130/supreme-court-rules-p60b-philhealth-fund-transfer-violates-universal-health
10. SALCEDA, PINANGALANAN NI CARPIO NA 'AUTHOR' NG, https://www.facebook.com/AttyRicky/videos/salceda-pinangalanan-ni-carpio-na-author-ng-probisyon-sa-2024-gaa-na-ginamit-ni-/839618
11. Recto: Move to redirect PhilHealth's excess funds straight to Filipinos is legal, moral, and economically sound, https://www.dof.gov.ph/recto-move-to-redirect-philhealths-excess-funds-straight-to-filipinos-is-legal-moral-and-economically-sound
12. Use PhilHealth excess funds to bankroll standby funds — Salceda, https://tribune.net.ph/2024/07/04/use-philhealth-excess-funds-to-bankroll-standby-funds-salceda
13. Lawmaker backs redirection of PhilHealth funds, https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/08/11/2376993/lawmaker-backs-redirection-philhealth-funds
14. 3 budget provisions challenged before SC, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2047967/3-budget-provisions-challenged-before-sc
15. Counsel of GOCCs defends PhilHealth's transfer of excess funds, https://www.dof.gov.ph/counsel-of-goccs-defends-philhealths-transfer-of-excess-funds-it-is-lawful-does-not-impair-the-constitutional
16. SC rejects transfer of 'excess' PhilHealth funds to nat'l treasury, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2151512/sc-rejects-transfer-of-excess-philhealth-funds-to-natl-treasury
17. Recto signed away PhilHealth's P60 B for flood works, document shows, https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2025/12/03/2491470/recto-signed-away-philhealths-p60-b-flood-works-document-shows
18. For balance, here is Rep. Joey Salceda's reply to Justice Carpio's statement, https://www.facebook.com/tonton.contreras/posts/for-balance-here-is-rep-joey-salcedas-reply-to-justice-carpios-statement/1022687
19. Remitted PhilHealth, PDIC funds used for flood control projects - Carpio, https://www.facebook.com/rapplerdotcom/videos/remitted-philhealth-pdic-funds-used-for-flood-control-projects-carpio/871641115284
20. PhilHealth and the people's right to health, https://opinion.inquirer.net/180867/philhealth-and-the-peoples-right-to-health
21. SC justice questions Congress' right to decide PhilHealth budget, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2049453/sc-justice-questions-congress-right-to-decide-philhealth-budget
22. SC orders return of P60 billion 'excess funds' to PhilHealth, https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/12/06/2492318/sc-orders-return-p60-billion-excess-funds-philhealth
23. STATEMENT OF FORMER CONGRESSMAN JOEY SALCEDA, https://www.facebook.com/MayonAlbayNews/photos/1047893367380887
24. Congress approves bill to use excess GOCC funds, https://remateexpress.ph/congress-approves-bill-to-use-excess-gocc-funds
25. Bill tapping GOCCs for unfunded budget items approved by House, https://www.bworldonline.com/economy/2023/11/29/560505/bill-tapping-goccs-for-unfunded-budget-items-approved-by-house
26. SC orders return of P60-B excess funds back to PhilHealth, https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/968577/sc-orders-return-of-p60-b-excess-funds-back-to-philhealth/story/
27. Supreme Court Voids Sec. Recto's Raid on PhilHealth, https://www.instagram.com/drtonyleachon/p/DR6MiP0ETmi/
28. Gov't to return P60-billion PhilHealth funds following SC order, https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/12/05/2492118/govt-return-p60-billion-philhealth-funds-following-sc-order-palace
29. COMMON NONSENSE If Secretary Recto calls it "common sense" to divert 60 billion, https://www.facebook.com/pablovirgilio.david/posts/common-nonsenseif-secretary-recto-calls-it-common-sense-to-divert-60-billion
30. CARPIO Former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio, https://www.facebook.com/100065084679190/posts/recto-may-face-plunder-malversation-charges-over-alleged-fund-diversion-carpiofo
31. SC asked to void 2025 budget for excluding our PhilHealth, https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2025/02/26/2424320/sc-asked-void-2025-budget-excluding-our-philhealth
32. The Executive Secretary and PhilHealth's woes, https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2025/12/02/715690/the-executive-secretary-and-philhealths-woes
33. PhilHealth's P74-B subsidy scrapped due to its 'failure' – Escudero, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2014946/philhealths-p74-b-subsidy-scrapped-due-to-its-failure-escudero
34. Ejercito blames PhilHealth over transfer of excess funds, https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/925457/ejercito-blames-philhealth-over-transfer-of-excess-funds/story/
