Former Albay Congressman Joey Sarte Salceda has denied allegations linking him to the “insertion” of a special provision in the 2024 National Budget that was cited as basis for the government’s withdrawal of billions of pesos from Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), particularly the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
The allegation was raised by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio in an interview with journalist Christian Esguerra on the YouTube program Facts First Tonight, referring to a bill Salceda allegedly introduced for the 2024 budget.
In a letter to Esguerra, Salceda said the allegation was “incorrect.” He also cited a report by the Institute of Risk and Strategic Studies Inc., which he chairs, detailing the facts of the issue.
“First, I was never a member of the Appropriations Committee, the bicameral conference committee, or the small committee in the 19th Congress. An insertion by me is procedurally impossible,” Salceda said.
“Second, the claim that the 2024 provision was lifted from my bill does not stand. My bill never became law. It sought to amend the 2023 budget and allowed GOCC excess funds to be tapped only if they were unencumbered by benefit obligations. Under that rule, PhilHealth could not remit anything if it had legal liabilities to fund,” he added.
Salceda said the 2024 provision was “completely different,” as it mandated GOCCs to reduce reserves to historical levels and imposed submission deadlines, effectively compelling the release of free cash on hand. He said this raised constitutional issues, particularly for GOCCs whose charters protect their reserve funds.
“I introduced House Bill No. 9513 to fund the 2023 COVID-19 borrowings, which was passed by the House of Representatives but did not become law,” he said.
He explained that the proposal was driven by the government’s no-new-taxes pledge and the need to fund the Public Health Emergency Allowance and the Health Facilities Support Fund.
“Any connection between me and that idea ended there. I never refiled that bill or filed any bill for the 2024 budget,” Salceda stressed.
He added that the concept originated from an earlier Bayanihan bill during the pandemic that sought to require GOCCs with excess funds to release equity, which also did not become law.
“It is customary for other members of Congress to copy from my bills,” Salceda said.
He further explained that his bill left the determination of what constitutes “excess” funds and which corporations should remit to the Executive Branch. The bill also did not amend the charters of GOCCs like PhilHealth, meaning they could not be compelled to transfer funds if prohibited by their charters.
