14/12/2024
S H A M E L E S S
House of Reds&THIEVES ! 🤬
They’re fooling us again
on PhilHealth, education
By Jarius Bondoc – Dec. 13, 2024
We’re dumb – all 119 million of us Filipinos. That’s why the President, VP, Cabinet, senators, congressmen kick us around.
Example 1 is what they did with the 2025 national budget:
The President proposed P825-billion public works. Congress added P289 billion last Wednesday. Total: P1.114 trillion.
Most will go to flood controls. As usual, each lawmaker will pocket billions of pesos from fake river dredging. Plus 70-percent kickbacks from highway rock nettings and cat’s eyes.
The extra money for public works came from education, science and technology, health, and other basics.
Dept. of Education got P737 billion, P12 billion less than originally proposed. State colleges and universities got P122 billion, P30 billion less. Remainder: P859 billion.
Science and technology got only P29 billion, instead of the proposed P49 billion.
Those violate the Constitution. Article XIV, Section 5 says, “The State shall assign highest budgetary priority to education.”
Section 10 further prioritizes “research and development … and S&T education, training, and services.”
We allow breaches of fundamental law. For a decade now our grade schoolers are dumbest in Math, Science, and Reading Comprehension among 85 countries.
Our leaders don’t care – and we accept it.
Example 2 is Congress’ zero budget for our PhilHealth:
The President allotted P74 billion: P53 billion from sin taxes on alcohol, to***co, sugary goods; and P21-billion subsidy.
Under the 2018 Universal Health Care Act (UHCA), sin taxes automatically must be given to PhilHealth. That’s the “indirect” contribution of indigents and low-income earners. It’s added to “direct” contributions from mid- and high-income earners.
The PhilHealth board forcibly raised direct contributions, P500 up to P5,000 per month, starting January 2024. That’s supposedly so members can enjoy more benefits. The board consists of the health, labor, social welfare and finance secretaries, and other presidential appointees.
But Congress deemed that our PhilHealth has so much money. “If I’m not mistaken, it has P600-billion ‘reserves’, deposited for interest lower than inflation rate so government is losing money,” said Grace Poe, head of the Senate finance committee.
PhilHealth spokesman Dr. Israel Pargas gave another figure – P431 billion – when interviewed by Ted Failon and Czarina Guevarra on Radyo5 yesterday. It’s not government money. It’s mostly members’ direct contributions since 1995, when PhilHealth was put up. Indirect contributions began only in 2019.
Reserves are not excess funds, it’s seed capital, like in SSS or GSIS, which should wisely be invested so PhilHealth can last for generations.
But Finance Sec. Ralph Recto, a PhilHealth director, treated it as excess to justify diverting P90 billion from PhilHealth to the Treasury. Chairman Health Sec. Teodoro Herbosa and president Emmanuel Ledesma colluded.
Now Congress says getting zero allocation is PhilHealth’s punishment for giving P90 billion to the Treasury.
We PhilHealth members are thrice slapped on the back of the head. First, by the PhilHealth board in extracting more contributions from us. Second, from their theft of our P90 billion which they labeled as excess. Third, by Congress withholding contributions from sin taxes and subsidy.
They broke the UHCA which says extra funds must be used solely for PhilHealth benefits and to reduce direct contributions.
By this year PhilHealth must cover all health needs including blood works, lab tests, x-rays, and consultations.
The PhilHealth board and president can boast of only additional benefits like kidney transplants and heart attack packages. How many of us 119 million Filipinos, especially youths aged 1 to 35, 65 percent of us, need transplants or suffer heart attacks? At least they gave us dental care for bad breath.
Like in the 2024 budget law Congress again violated the Constitution in the 2025 version. Article VI, Section 25(2) forbids budget acts from amending other acts.
Section 29(3) further requires “all money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose to be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purpose only” – like sin taxes for UHCA.
Bongbong Marcos Jr. already allowed such breaches in 2024. VP Sara Duterte kept silent until she had a falling out with BBM and the Congress supermajority. That’s why Congress repeated it for 2025.
Only a few doctors, nurses, lawyers, economists, workers, and columnists spoke up – voices in the wilderness.
Example 3 is “ayuda” for 2025 electioneering:
Sen. Imee Marcos said the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program of her cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez will be abolished. But Congress approved P26-billion AKAP – P5 billion for senators, P21 billion for congressmen.
AKAP will be doled by reelectionist politicos. Patay-gutom, we’ll elbow each other out for a fistful of our own money.
“Dishonest political leadership,” the Alyansa ng Nagkaka-Isang Mamamayan denounced the “deceit”. ANIM consists of retired generals, bishops and priests, youths, women, professionals, and NGOs – a fraction of us 119 million.
Is going to the Supreme Court the recourse? Aren’t justices scared that it’ll take only 106 congressional signatures to impeach them? Didn’t they just deny Wednesday a petition to recount votes in one small city in Batangas to show massive cheating in the 2022 Presidential-VP-Congressional Election?
(PNA Photo)
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