By Dr. Tony Leachon
The Filipino people are now bearing the brunt of decisions made without foresight, urgency, or compassion. We face an energy crisis that cripples households and hospitals, while the very foundation of our healthcare system—PhilHealth—is being dismantled by unconstitutional transfers and deliberate neglect.
- Defunding of PhilHealth: The unconstitutional diversion of ₱60 billion to unprogrammed appropriations, orchestrated by former DOF Secretary Ralph Recto and now tolerated at the highest levels, undermines the Universal Health Care Law and betrays the constitutional mandate to protect public health.
- Zero Subsidy in 2025: Instead of the ₱74 billion needed to sustain PhilHealth, the government has allocated zero. Cabinet officials, including Recto and Secretary Herbosa, failed to defend the lifeline of millions of Filipinos in Congress.
- Rise of MAIFIP: The unconstitutional expansion of MAIFIP weakens PhilHealth further, eroding the very spirit of universal healthcare and leaving patients vulnerable to rising costs and inequity.
The consequences are immediate and devastating. Private hospitals, already burdened by soaring fuel costs and a weakening peso, are now studying a 5% increase in hospital fees. Medicines, medical supplies, and essential services are becoming more expensive, pushing families deeper into poverty and despair.
This is not merely a fiscal misstep—it is a moral failure. To defund healthcare in the middle of an energy crisis is to abandon the people at their most vulnerable. It is to prioritize short-term maneuvering over long-term survival.
We must demand accountability. We must insist on urgency. And we must remind our leaders: healthcare is not a privilege—it is a constitutional right.
The Filipino people deserve leaders who see beyond today’s numbers, who defend the future of our children, and who protect the dignity of every patient. Without vision, we suffer. Without urgency, we perish.
It is time to restore trust, uphold the law, and place the health and survival of our people above politics.
#RelentlessForChange
