If the small fries involved in the ghost flood control projects in Mindoro had been herded and sent to jail, should not those involved in the ₱60-billion heist of the Philippine Health Insurance and PDIC ₱107- billion Trust Funds be likewise locked up in jail?
Nobody has come out with any accounting how the funds were expended after the Marcos cash-trapped administration through the Department of Finance, then headed by Sec. Ralph Recto, covertly transferred the huge amount to the national treasury. The PhilHealth trust fund is owned by millions of Filipino employees including the self-employed and overseas Filipino workers. All of the members contributed to the fund for the health benefits that they can derive from PhilHealth.
The architects of the surreptitious transfer came out with various reasons when they were caught dipping their hands on what they claimed were idle funds. They did the same thing with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation’s ₱107-billion trust fund too.
Lately the Supreme Court took cognizance of the anomaly and ordered the immediate return of the PhilHealth funds stressing that it is unconstitutional and violative of the Universal Health Care Act. The High Court order emphasized that the funds must stay with PhilHealth for the health benefits of its members.
Some legal luminaries, among them former SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio declared that those involved should face plunder case and restitute the money. I just wondered why after saying so his assertions wandered elsewhere and this time pointing at Joey Salceda for something which is yet unclear.
Malacanang in seeming obedience to the Supreme Court directive did something which look like a grand tomfoolery. What it did was to include in the budget ₱60-billion representing the restoration of the amount it took from the Philhealth trust fund plus some additional amount to make it looked like settlement and act of kindness. The act is an insult to the taxpayers intelligence for what Malacanang did was to use taxpayers money to pay PhilHealth. My barber on the other hand say “mukhang nabudol kaming mga miembro ng dalawang beses”.
Where exactly did the Marcos government use PhilHealth and PDIC trust funds is still a mystery and ambiguous.
The other question is how will the Marcos and his finance advisers restore the ₱107-billion it took from PDIC trust fund? That money is suppose protect bank depositors, especially the small ones by guaranteeing their deposits up to ₱1,000,000.
If dirty hands dig into trust funds we do not know what is happening with government banks, financial institutions and the gold bars at the Central Bank.
