SEVEN former secretaries of Finance declared their support for the use of excess funds held by government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), including the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), to finance important government projects.
In a joint statement, the former secretaries said transferring unused GOCC funds to the National Government does away with the need to impose new taxes or take on more debt.
The statement was signed by former secretaries Cesar E. A. Virata, Roberto F. De Ocampo, Jose T. Pardo, Alberto G. Romulo, Jose Isidro N. Camacho, Margarito B. Teves, and Cesar V. Purisima.
“We fully understand and support the DoF’s exercise of its authority to effectively utilize the excess funds of GOCCs to finance crucial government projects in areas like health, education, social services, and infrastructure,” they said.
They said the Department of Finance (DoF) faces challenges in generating sufficient revenue to support growth.
“In our view, it is in the public’s best interest for a portion of excess GOCC funds to be mobilized efficiently, rather than imposing additional taxes or increasing public debt that would burden future generations,” they said. “The taxpayers are effectively paying interest on these idle, unused funds that are benefiting no one.”
The DoF has been urged by healthcare advocates to withdraw its order to PhilHealth to transfer excess funds to the Treasury.
PhilHealth has returned P30 billion of the P89.9 billion requested by the DoF, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said last week.
The signatories also noted that the DoF will only access a portion of GOCC funds, and cited safeguards in place for GOCCs to retain prudent levels of resources.
“Responsible public financing requires considering opportunity costs. If unused funds are left dormant, the potential benefits are lost. Every unused peso represents development denied for Filipinos.”
They also expressed confidence that the unused public funds will be managed with “utmost diligence and prudence” under the leadership of Mr. Recto.
During the Senate hearing, Mr. Recto said the DoF will comply with any laws or Supreme Court rulings regarding the fund transfers.
“If Congress passes a law telling us to stop and to give back the money, we will do so. If the Supreme Court says the same thing, we will do so,” he said.
Mr. Recto has said that PhilHealth would still have around P500 billion in funding after the transfers. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
