Tag: Universal Health Care

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Lacson Asks: Why Did Senate and House Allow the Illegal P74B Realignment of PhilHealth Subsidy in 2025 GAA?

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.

In Filipino: Tanong ni Lacson: Bakit Pumayag ang Senado at Kamara sa Ilegal na P74B Realignment ng PhilHealth Subsidy sa 2025 GAA?

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Ping Lacson to Revisit Universal Health Care Act’s Implementation Upon Senate Return

A revisiting of the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act will be one of the priorities of independent senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson, should he earn a seat in the Senate this May.

Lacson said that while the UHC Act which was signed in 2019 should have ensured accessible and high-quality health care for all Filipinos, its implementation is still “wanting” since this has not yet happened.

“The UHC Act was passed into law in 2019, but its implementation is wanting. In the exercise of oversight, we must revisit the full implementation of the law,” he said.

He said this oversight function will likely be exercised during the deliberation of the yearly budget.

Related: Ping Lacson, Rerepasuhin ang Pagpapatupad ng Universal Health Care Act Kung Makabalik sa Senado

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Ping Lacson Pushes Barangay-Level Health Care System in PH

STA. ROSA CITY, Laguna – Former Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Saturday pushed for the full and proper implementation of the Universal Health Care Act, so the Philippines can have a barangay-level health care system that can at least approximate the efficient health care system in Cuba.

Lacson said this can be done by ensuring the proper funding of the UHC Act, such that it will cover all Filipinos in all barangays – even as he said the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) may not be able to give 100 percent free health benefits to Filipinos.

“You know me as a watchdog of the budget. I scrutinize it to help make sure that the laws we pass like the UHC, Free Tertiary Education Act, and other laws passed by Congress do not get paralyzed due to lack of funding,” he said in Filipino at the press conference of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate here.

“We want to make sure the UHC Act covers all barangays. When we are stuck at the low end, we are just having pilot programs in selected barangays. But when we go to full implementation, we cover all barangays,” he added.

Related: Ping Lacson, Nais ang Barangay Level Health Care System

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Hope for Filipino Youths: Lacson to Ensure Funding for Education, Health

Ensuring enough funding for education and health will be one of senatorial aspirant Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson’s priorities should he earn a new mandate in the Senate.

Lacson said this can be done by tracking down less useful and questionable appropriations in the budget, and realigning them to fund these much-needed programs.

“Such appropriations can be put to good use by becoming seed money. In 2016, I questioned an P8.3-billion allocation involving the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s budget for 2017. I introduced an amendment to remove it. During our caucus in the Senate, we agreed to put the amount in the free tertiary education measure that we knew was about to become a law,” he said.

Related: Pag-Asa para sa Kabataang Pilipino: Lacson, Titiyakin ang Pondo para sa Edukasyon, Kalusugan

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On the SC Petition vs the P89.9B Realigned PhilHealth ‘Excess’ Funds

Image: Inquirer.net

I hope the SC petition vs the realigned P89.9B PhilHealth “excess” funds has emphasized to assail the congressional insertion in the Special Provision under the Unprogrammed Fund of the GAA, thus amending RA 7875 (Health Insurance Act) a Special Law as amended by RA 10606, further amended by the UHC Law (RA 11223).

Every lawmaker knows that the Special Law must be taken as intended to constitute an exception to, or a qualification of, the general act like the GAA.

Needless to say, a general law cannot amend a special law.

Related: On Diverting PhilHealth’s ‘Unutilized’ P89.9B Gov’t Subsidy