05/12/2025
Siya at kung sino pa ang may sala ay panagutin na.. pagod na ang bansang Pilipinas..
Recto illegally spent our Philhealth’s P60B for flood works, document shows
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto committed two crimes with our Philhealth’s P60 billion:
• Malversation, for taking money from members’ health insurance benefits in 2024;
• Abetting plunder, for misspending it on fake, faulty flood works of political allies.
There’s a smoking gun. Recto signed an order for both schemes.
Although previously publicized, only now has the document been shown to prove heinous crime. Malversation and plunder are non-bailable and merit life imprisonment.
Groups and citizens separately have been questioning before the Supreme Court the illegal use of our Philhealth’s P60 billion. Ex-SC senior justice Antonio Carpio, a petitioner, presented the damning document in a forum Saturday.
The P60-billion heist from our Philhealth and the P1.7-trillion flood works scam have been rocking the Marcos Jr. admin. The two issues now turn out to be joined.
Tied to those was P107 billion that Recto’s Bureau of Treasury (BTr) also took from Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.
Incriminating is Section 5 of Dept. of Finance Circular 003-2024.
Recto signed it Feb. 27th, 2024, six weeks after Recto became Secretary of Finance on Jan. 12th.
“Smoking gun”, Carpio branded Section 5. “The transfer of Philhealth and PDIC trust funds to BTr triggered the release of funds for flood control projects under Unprogrammed Appropriations.”
Carpio stressed: “Clearly, the transfer of P60-billion Philhealth and P107-billion PDIC trust funds allowed the flood control projects to be funded, and for which DBM released money.”
Based on the DOF website, Section 5 states: “Upon remittance, the BTr shall issue to the DBM a certification stating the amount of the Fund Balance remitted to the BTr by the GOCC in accordance with these Guidelines and copy furnishing DOF. The certification shall become the basis of the DBM to release funds, chargeable against Unprogrammed Appropriations under R.A. 11975.”
The technicalese notwithstanding, Section 5 betrays criminal intent.
R.A. 11975 is the General Appropriations Act of 2024. President Bongbong Marcos signed it Dec. 20th, 2023.
Recto was then House Deputy Speaker, and member of the 12-man House panel in the bicameral conference committee for GAA 2024. BBM’s son Rep. Sandro Marcos was also panelist.
GAA 2024 contained Unprogrammed Appropriations of P731.45 billion. It was triple Malacañang’s original proposal of P281.9 billion.
Most were for flood works, favorite kickback sources since 2016.
Unprogrammed Appropriations, unlike Programmed, are carried out only in case of new taxes, new loans, savings, or cash windfall.
But the Bicam inserted a rider. Special Provision 1 (d) directed DOF to fund Unprogrammed Appropriations from “reserve funds” of Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations. Philhealth and PDIC are among dozens of GOCCs.
In effect, Congress and the Cabinet colluded to use unprogrammed funds in GAA 2024 for ghost and substandard flood works.
Subsequent exposés show that lawmakers, DPWH officials, and contractors plunder 20 percent to 70 percent of the funds.
Flood works and other kickback projects are usually inserted in Programmed Appropriations. GAA 2024 was different. Ayuda for the needy, sickly, and jobless were prioritized. That was to support the ambition of then-Speaker Martin Romualdez to become prime minister via Charter Change.
GAA 2024 twice broke the Constitution, Article VI, Legislative Department:
• Section 25 (5) “No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations; however, the President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of Constitutional Commissions may, by law, be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations.”
• Section 29 (3) “All money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purpose only.”
Recto malversed Philhealth’s P60 billion and PDIC’s P107 billion. He had no authority to issue DOF Memo Circular 003-2024. Only the President may do so for the Executive.
Recto also malversed Philhealth’s P60 billion when he broke the 2019 Universal Health Care Act. A special law, UHCA states that Philhealth reserve funds can be used only to lower members’ contributions or increase their benefits for individual health insurance.
Then-DBM Sec. Amenah Pangandaman was complicit in disbursing Philhealth and PDIC money for plunderous flood funds. So were Health Sec. Ted Herbosa, DSWD Sec. Rex Gatchalian, and Labor Sec. Benny Laguesma, who concurred as Philhealth board members.
Recto also perjured at the SC. Through the Solicitor General he claimed that DOF-BTr spent half, P32 billion, of Philhealth’s P60 billion to start the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges. Yet months before, Korea already lent P3.2 billion for it. One-tenth was all it needed. by Jarius Bondoc - Dec. 3, 2025
