The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will receive ₱60 billion after the government canceled ₱255 billion worth of locally funded flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) proposed 2026 budget.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced the reallocation on Saturday during his visit to the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital (DJFMH) in Manila, where he inspected the implementation of the zero balance billing policy.
“I’m happy to announce that from the adjustments we made—mainly from the Department of Public Works and Highways—the ₱60 billion will be returned to PhilHealth,” Marcos said.
The President explained that the Department of Finance (DOF) had previously transferred the ₱60 billion from PhilHealth to the national treasury because the funds were not being used for members’ benefits. He assured the public that despite the transfer, PhilHealth’s services and benefit packages were never reduced.
“Kahit anong paliwanag na ibigay namin… may pangamba pa rin ang tao na baka mabawasan ang services. Dinagdagan na natin, pero hindi mo maiwasan ang kanilang pangamba,” Marcos said, emphasizing that PhilHealth has, in fact, expanded its benefit coverage.
As part of his directive to curb corruption, the President said the DPWH revised its 2026 National Expenditure Program, cutting its proposed budget from ₱881.312 billion to ₱624.784 billion by removing allocations for all locally funded flood control projects worth ₱255 billion.
Marcos earlier explained that the savings from the cancelled flood control projects will be used to fund key government priorities such as education, agriculture, health, housing, infrastructure, ICT, labor, social services, and energy.
