5 days ago
PhilHealth gets P53.3B in proposed 2026 budget
The National Health Insurance Program is allocated P53.3 billion in the 2026 National Expenditure Program after the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) received zero subsidy this 2025.
In his budget message, President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said this amount is to strengthen pooled health financing systems, expand public subsidies, streamline insurance contributions, and reduce out-of-pocket expenses, especially for the poor and vulnerable.
To recall, the state insurer's zero subsidy in 2025 was due to its P600 billion reserve funds.
To honor the promise of universal health care for every Filipino, the Department of Health will receive the third largest budget allocation at P320.5 billion, marking a 5.6 percent increase from the FY 2025 NEP, Marcos said.
Marcos added that DOH hospitals in Metro Manila are allocated P27.7 billion, a significant increase of 20.2 percent from the previous year's P23.1 billion.
Separately, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) will receive P7.2 billion in 2026 to support its operations and facility upgrades.
Moreover, this will enable the PGH to bolster its workforce by filling the newly created 1,224 positions and expand its current bed capacity and medical services.
The education sector got the biggest allocation in the proposed 2026 national budget with P1.224 trillion.
Marcos emphasized that this fulfills the constitutional mandate to assign the highest budgetary priority to the education sector.
Marcos said the National Government education spending would also meet the UNESCO-recommended 15.0 to 20.0% of total public expenditure, in line with the administration's strong commitment to implementing a child-responsive budget and nurturing future-ready generations.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) earlier submitted the P6.793-trillion NEP to the House of Representatives.
The legislative body, holding the 'power of the purse,' is set to start deliberating on the proposed budget allocations set by the executive branch for 2026 after the submission of the DBM.
The President urged members of Congress who will deliberate on the proposed 2026 national budget to "swiftly enact" it. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
