FY 2027 General Appropriations Bill Day 8 Part 1

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD): The proposed FY2027 national budget allocates ₱241.2 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

For the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), the FY2027 proposal was ₱33 billion, compared with ₱63 billion in the FY2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Representative Antonio L. Tinio sought restoration, and DSWD confirmed a request for an additional ₱30 billion to restore AICS to the 2026 GAA level; no vote or approval of that request was recorded.

The Supplemental Feeding Program allocation was reported as ₱9.564 billion in FY2026 and ₱6.359 billion in FY2027. DSWD sponsor Representative JC Rahman A. Nava, M.D., said the reduced funding meant 120 rather than 180 feeding days and that restoring the 2026 level would be better; no restoration was adopted in these exchanges. The hearing did not establish a single overall original DSWD request total.

Department of Health (DOH): The FY2027 proposal for the Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) comprised ₱263,624,289,000 in new appropriations. DOH sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia stated a DOH-administered program total of ₱270.565 billion including automatic appropriations. The hearing did not establish a single comparable overall original DOH request total.

PhilHealth figures were stated for different scopes: Garcia cited ₱55.42 billion in the FY2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 30.74 million indirect contributors, while a separate reported premium-subsidy proposal was ₱74.45 billion for 11.09 million qualified beneficiaries. Members cited a minimum subsidy need of ₱244 billion based on projected benefit payouts and urged additional funding. Garcia said he and the PhilHealth sponsor personally favored an increase, subject to the Committee and members; no additional appropriation was approved. In a later exchange, Representative Dadah Kiram Ismula cited a ₱379 billion PhilHealth proposal with ₱73 billion in the 2027 NEP, while Garcia described a payout-based recalculation from ₱376 billion to ₱244 billion; those figures were not reconciled.

For the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program, Garcia said DOH requested about ₱63 billion total for 2027, while the NEP contained ₱24.2 billion; the ₱63 billion was the total request, not an amount on top of the NEP. He said utilization was high and DOH would welcome additional funding. Tinio supported restoring and increasing hospital operating and personnel-service funding, but no restoration amount or final disposition was recorded.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD): Representative JC Rahman A. Nava, M.D., who sponsored the proposal, framed the DSWD’s work around the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, feeding and food assistance, protective services, livelihoods, social pensions and emergency assistance. He said the programs should work together and urged accurate targeting, timely delivery, transparent spending and measurable results. Nava cited Secretary Rex Gatchalian’s report that the Department had achieved nearly full utilization of its 2025 funds, and said assistance should reach intended beneficiaries effectively.

Rep. Presley C. De Jesus: Representative Presley C. De Jesus cited the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s fiscal year 2027 target of 3.5 million active Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) households, including 493,000 new households identified through the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS). Sponsor Representative JC Rahman A. Nava, M.D., said registration and validation of listed beneficiaries were expected to finish by October, and confirmed that the newly identified households were included in the 3.5 million target.

De Jesus asked how many CBMS households remained untraceable, ineligible or unregistered; Nava said about half of those identified through CBMS could not be traced. He said a new digital system for real-time tracking of 4Ps beneficiaries was being installed and would be functional by year-end.

De Jesus also asked whether graduates who later fall back into poverty are monitored. Nava said there is no regular monitoring after graduation; some graduates receive sustainable livelihoods through other programs such as the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), while others are fully separated from DSWD’s list. He said DSWD coordinates with local governments and endorses graduates to them.

De Jesus compared the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) allocation of ₱63.90 billion in the fiscal year 2026 GAA with ₱33.29 billion in the fiscal year 2027 NEP, a reduction of ₱30.61 billion, and asked how many crisis clients the proposed amount could serve. Nava said the initial target had been 6–8 million, but estimated that about 4 million beneficiaries would not be able to avail of the program under the reduced allocation. He also said about 8 million were served in the current year.

De Jesus cited a Commission on Audit (COA) finding of ₱397.45 million in duplicate and overlapping AICS–Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) payments in 2025 across the central office and nine regional offices. Nava said DSWD and COA were flagging beneficiaries with multiple payments and had an embedded cross-matching system before accepting clients. He said the number considered actual duplication was about 14,000 beneficiaries, far below the roughly 400,000 duplications referenced from the COA finding. DSWD had flagged those beneficiaries and barred them temporarily from further assistance; Nava said repeat incidents could lead to appropriate charges. He did not say that the money had been recovered.

Asked how former AKAP recipients would be handled after AKAP lost funding for the next fiscal year, Nava said assistance was now under AICS and that AICS had also been used for other crisis responses. He described AICS as a department-initiated program for temporary relief to individuals or families in crisis, while AKAP was Congress-initiated and aimed at low-income people on a more regular basis. He confirmed eligible applicants may walk into a DSWD office without a barangay endorsement, presenting documents such as a medical certificate to establish their need.

De Jesus cited an expected expansion of the Walang Gutom Program from 300,000 to 750,000 households through the 3.8 billion Asian Development Bank (ADB) Refuel Project (currency unspecified in this exchange), while the program’s locally funded fiscal year 2027 allocation remained ₱1.89 billion. He asked about the loan’s effectivity and disbursement and the counterpart funding and implementation requirements for expansion. Nava referred to a current “700” figure without clearly stating its unit, described Refuel as an expansion of food stamps, and said the national government was putting more funds into Walang Gutom using CBMS to identify the food-poor population. He said the efforts had been merged into the Walang Gutom Program.

De Jesus asked about the program’s ₱3,000 monthly food credit on electronic benefit transfer cards. Nava said about 95% of beneficiaries usually attend the monthly Kalusugan, Kasanayan, at Kabuhayan sessions, and those who repeatedly miss them are eventually dropped. He said the sessions aim to encourage behavioral changes and build skills.

Nava reported 266,057 active CBMS-identified beneficiaries under Walang Gutom. He said the program had 1,214 retail partners, including 221 farmers’ cooperative associations and 788 women-led or women-owned groups, and that prices were within standard retail prices. The payment system runs through merchants’ phones using point-of-sale capability; beneficiaries may use their credit in one transaction, which Nava said can reduce repeat trips. The sponsor said he knew of no cases of beneficiaries reselling their purchases. Asked whether unused credit carries forward, he said the department’s experience was that the monthly credit was fully used.

De Jesus said the fiscal year 2027 NEP provides ₱51.64 billion for 4.224 million social pension beneficiaries, while CBMS data reportedly identifies about 550,000 additional indigent seniors who remain unserved. Nava said no additional beneficiaries were expected under the proposed allocation; DSWD would most likely use the same list next year, and the budget would suffice only for that number.

De Jesus asked how many eligible claims under the Expanded Centenarians Act were pending and what was causing delays. Nava replied that releases were generally quarterly. He said applicants could apply directly and that the responsible commission intended to digitize the system; applicants with bank accounts could receive payment within about a week, compared with about three months for those without accounts. The answer did not give the backlog size or explain the causes of the delays. De Jesus urged DSWD to prevent delays and said he supported the department’s budget.

Rep. JC M. Abalos: Representative JC M. Abalos opened by crediting the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), citing 1.77 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) households that had graduated to self-sufficiency since 2022 and 7.24 million children from beneficiary households who had completed basic education. He then asked whether the proposed 2027 budget accounted for emerging poverty risks: the 2025 poverty incidence of 9.7% did not reflect the Middle East-linked oil-price shock that the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) projected could add 1.34 million people to poverty, while the country’s new upper-middle-income classification could raise the international comparison threshold from $4.20 to $8.30 per person per day and potentially triple measured incidence.

The DSWD sponsor, Representative JC Rahman A. Nava, M.D., said the budget basis was the 2023 poverty figure of 15%, rather than the latest figure below 10%. He said Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) had been tapped through Uplift to address the current crisis and augment 4Ps benefits. Asked what the department could do if inflation or other risks worsened conditions beyond the 2023 baseline, Nava said it could repeat crisis interventions such as Uplift. Abalos later asked for continued communication with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) if conditions on the ground worsened; Nava agreed and said AICS and temporary programs could provide relief and be scaled up if needed.

Abalos raised overpayments associated with delays in removing households that had become self-sufficient, noting heavy social-worker caseloads and delays in Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) data. Nava said DSWD was developing a digitalization program with almost real-time tracking to address these concerns. Abalos welcomed a real-time tagging system and proposed empowering 4Ps parent leaders to help verify households ready to graduate. Nava accepted the proposal but said DSWD could not compensate the leaders because there was no additional budget; Abalos welcomed the department’s continued support for parent leaders’ role in the program.

Abalos asked about Set 12 households awaiting 4Ps inclusion after the Listahanan-to-CBMS transition. He cited 434,069 wait-listed households, of whom the Social Registry Office had endorsed 166,251 for inclusion in the 4Ps CBMS. Nava said 59,462 of the 434,069 remained unidentified; the rest were already included and would be among the 3.5 million beneficiaries next year. He said validation began early in the year, the remaining households were spread across the country, and households had been advised to approach their local government units for identification. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) had committed to validate the remaining group but was behind target; Nava said it had told DSWD it expected to finish by the end of September.

Abalos asked why the proposed 2027 coverage target was 3.5 million households, following the reduction from the customary 4.4 million to 3.5 million beginning in 2026. Nava attributed the lower target to declining poverty incidence, while saying DSWD still intended to cover 10% of the near-poor group. He confirmed the target was based on the prevailing poverty incidence and identified the 15% figure as the basis. Nava said PSA uses the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, conducted every three years. Abalos warned that a three-year survey cycle may miss intervening crises and asked DSWD and its sponsor to keep DBM and DepDev informed if emerging conditions materially worsened. Nava agreed; he said AICS and temporary programs such as Uplift could provide relief and be duplicated or scaled up if necessary.

Abalos said the House had passed the priority Four-Ps Act measure, which would institutionalize the first 1,000 days and a rice subsidy, and asked whether those programs remained intact despite a slight reduction in 4Ps funding. Nava said the allocation remained sufficient because the target beneficiary count was smaller.

On the Supplemental Feeding Program (SFP), Abalos cited 2025 results of 78.92% of malnourished children improving their nutritional status against a 70.05% target, while 61,371 children were confirmed served under the tighter budget window. He said the proposed one-third funding reduction could reverse the 180-day feeding cycle achieved in 2026 and asked whether the expected 120-day cycle for 1.9 million children would affect outcomes. Nava said restoring the 2026 level for 2027 would be better for the department; under the reduced allocation, its estimate was a 120-day cycle.

Abalos asked whether DSWD’s reported Walang Gutom program discrepancies covered the full beneficiary list or a regional sample: 238 households had unidentified or disputed roster members, and local government units had confirmed that 128 households no longer lived in the surveyed area. Nava said the figures covered the whole program. He said DSWD continued field validation to resolve discrepancies and confirm or finally accept beneficiaries.

Abalos asked when the DBM-approved 5,627-item enhanced staffing structure would appear in the staffing summary and be funded, noting that DSWD had over 17,000 contract-of-service and job-order personnel—more than three times its authorized permanent positions—and that many 4Ps links had served for over a decade. Nava said about 5,000 new items were available that year and were being filled, with another 5,000 expected the following year. Abalos welcomed the expansion as a path to security of tenure for long-serving social workers.

Abalos asked how the DSWD Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs, established by Executive Order No. 51 (2023), could fund its programs after he found no specific line item for its activities in the General Appropriations Act. Nava said DSWD needed to ask DBM for a specific item, that no such DBM item existed at the time, and that DSWD was absorbing the related costs. Abalos said he understood the department had written to DBM seeking a small sum, then asked whether Nava would support a future request for a separate committee budget. Nava said he would support the initiative.

Rep. Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando: Representative Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando questioned the poverty threshold used by economic managers, citing ₱14,634 a month for a family of five—about ₱97 per person per day for food and non-food needs—as too low to reflect real living costs. He asked which Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) programs had reduced poverty and how many people they reached.

Representative JC Rahman A. Nava, M.D., responding as the DSWD sponsor, agreed with the concern about the threshold. He said the Department was still working from the earlier 15.5% poverty figure based on a 2023 survey rather than the newer figure below 10%, and described the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), temporary relief including UPLIFT, and other support for near-poor families. Nava cited a World Bank study attributing 2.2% of poverty reduction to 4Ps. San Fernando welcomed the program evidence while reiterating that the official poverty measure did not reflect families’ lived hardship.

San Fernando challenged a statement he attributed to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona that Filipinos were spendthrifts, saying low earnings—not excessive consumption—were the problem. He cited Remolona’s annual earnings as at least ₱52 million. Nava said the DSWD disagreed with the statement and observed that poor families who use its services struggle to find a path to a better life. San Fernando thanked the sponsor for that response and criticized blaming families for poverty.

San Fernando asked whether the DSWD met the requirement to reserve at least 1% of positions for persons with disabilities, and requested hiring and personnel-services figures. Nava said the Department had hired more than 500 people with disabilities, about 1% of its workforce, and committed to improve that level for FY2027. The exchange did not provide the requested prior-year personnel-services appropriations or obligations.

San Fernando asked how many DSWD social workers and residential facilities could serve Deaf people in Filipino Sign Language (FSL), and what FY2027 training would cost. Nava said 80 personnel were trained and practicing FSL nationwide, and the Department was preparing training for frontline and local social-welfare staff. He gave the current training budget as 1 million; the answer did not identify its currency or fiscal year. He said the DSWD Academy would hold four trainings a year, with about 45 people per batch, within the Academy’s budget. He also described coordination with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) and the Philippine Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, which he said had 251 interpreters.

Asked whether field offices and shelters could each have at least one FSL-capable staff member by the end of 2027, Nava again cited 80 personnel, agreed that more were needed and said the Department was committed to address the shortfall. San Fernando said he would push to increase support for FSL.

San Fernando noted that the DSWD supplementary feeding program allocation fell from approximately ₱9.564 billion in FY2026 to ₱6.359 billion in FY2027, while the target remained 1.899 million children. Nava said the lower allocation would reduce feeding from 180 to 120 days. San Fernando said he would push for additional funding and asked whether meals would retain the same nutritional and caloric standards. Nava said delivery could continue with local-government participation and that local governments could make up the 60-day shortfall. Asked what share local governments, parents or communities would cover, Nava said it would depend on local-government capacity and agreed this remained a concern for the Department; no counterpart amount or percentage was given.

San Fernando asked about children in conflict with the law at agri-camps in penal colonies and whether their rights were protected. Nava said the facility was not yet available and that construction was only beginning. San Fernando asked the Department to provide documents on the agri-camp, commended its poverty interventions and said he would help support DSWD funding.

Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago: Representative Sarah Jane I. Elago asked what additional help the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) planned amid the National Energy Emergency and three consecutive oil-price increases. She cited diesel above ₱100 per liter and gasoline at ₱87 per liter. DSWD sponsor Representative JC Rahman A. Nava, M.D., said the crisis had been anticipated and the temporary Unified Package for Livelihood, Industry, Food, and Transport (Uplift) intervention would continue through December. He described 7.5 million potential beneficiaries, including 3.5 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries, poor households identified through the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) but not reached by existing DSWD programs, near-poor people, and low-wage or low-income workers. He said the benefit package was ₱2,000 per month through December.

Elago asked whether Uplift’s latest meeting considered suspending or reducing excise taxes on petroleum, noting that the announced suspension covered LPG and kerosene but not diesel or gasoline, which workers, farmers, fishers, and transport rely on. Nava referred the tax question to the concerned agency and said DSWD remained committed to helping people in need. Elago called for broader assistance amid the emergency, including for near-poor and struggling middle-class households affected by fuel and living costs.

Elago asked about DSWD’s work as the Philippine Central Authority under the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, including whether the International Child Support Secretariat had adequate funding and what it would request for the following year. Nava said the agency had handled cross-border incoming and outgoing cases for three years, with about 100 child-support cases addressed. In response to the staffing, office and next-year service questions, he said DSWD operated through its Central Authority and that a dedicated secretariat existed. Elago then asked for a status report on implementation and interdepartmental coordination.

Elago relayed concerns raised by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center about abuse and ill-treatment in Bahay Pag-asa centers, inadequate living conditions, nutrition, case delays, and limited health and education access. Nava said no abuse reports had reached DSWD and that the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC), in its monitoring, had not observed incidents at the centers mentioned. Asked to coordinate with the CHR and the reporting organization, he said monitoring was usually conducted with the CHR. Elago cited recommendations for child-sensitive visitation rules and more specialists and social workers, and sought the JJWC’s commitment to respond. Nava said the agency was fully committed and had been working with the CHR.

Elago asked how the devolution of social workers affected access to social-welfare services and care for people in crisis or survivors of gender-based violence. She asked whether DSWD supported a special provision for additional funds to third-, fourth- and fifth-class municipalities for residential-care facilities and shelters for women and children. Nava described strong coordination with local social-welfare offices and continuing training to maintain standards. He said DSWD operated its own centers and also had funds to place clients in private centers. He did not state a position on the proposed special provision.

Elago called for Congress to examine devolution’s effects on social welfare and national support services, citing local governments that said they lacked funds for the monthly cash subsidy to indigent solo parents. She supported studying the effects across social welfare, nutrition and health services.

Elago requested a copy of the Philippines’ $400 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan agreement for the Walang Gutom program. Nava agreed to provide it.

Elago called for connecting school-based and DSWD supplemental feeding with the Sagip Saka Act and local sourcing. She said a major cut to the Supplemental Feeding Program (SFP) could reduce feeding days for children in development centers and other supported settings. On LGBTQIA+ discrimination reports at Batangas State University and other schools, Nava said DSWD was holding consultative dialogues with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Education (DepEd); Elago noted that both agencies had committed to enforce school anti-discrimination policies.

Elago supported additional funds for the DSWD Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs to hold meaningful consultations and for the SFP to complete its 180-day cycle. She also said she had presented to the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) a need for ₱25 million per DSWD project: Project SAFE for online sexual abuse and exploitation of children and human trafficking; Project ARUGA for an additional month of support to poor families caring for children with disabilities; and Project PROTECT TEEN for adolescent mothers’ livelihoods, health and continuing education. She called for added funding for DSWD attached and supervised agencies, naming the Council for the Welfare of Children, National Authority for Child Care, Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council, National Council on Disability Affairs, National Commission of Senior Citizens, National Anti-Poverty Commission, and Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor. These were requests and calls for funding; no approval or disposition appears before the next interpellation.

Rep. Antonio L. Tinio: Representative Antonio L. Tinio asked how the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) had grown. Sponsor Representative JC Rahman A. Nava, M.D. recalled an initial scale of about 300,000 households, growth to about 1 million and then 2 million, and a later level of roughly 4.4 million to 4.5 million. He said the current target had been reduced to 3.5 million, citing more than 1.7 million graduates and declining poverty incidence. He also noted that beneficiary identification was shifting from the National Household Targeting System (NHTS-PR) to the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), which became available in late 2025.

Tinio’s chart showed DSWD’s assistance-program budget rising 152% from 2016 to 2026. Within that trend, he said AICS funding grew from ₱697.5 million in 2016—about 1% of that year’s GAA—to ₱8.7 billion in 2020 and ₱39 billion in 2022. He linked the later growth in assistance funding to congressional interventions, including the addition of the AKAP program in 2024 and 2025, and argued that more aid was being routed through politicians.

Tinio compared an AICS amount of ₱27 billion in the fiscal year 2026 NEP with ₱63 billion in the 2026 GAA after congressional additions, then cited a ₱33 billion fiscal year 2027 proposal. Nava said DSWD had initially requested about ₱70 billion for the 2026 AICS budget from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which granted ₱27 billion. He said the department wanted AICS restored to the 2026 GAA level because about 4 million people could be displaced without restoration. Tinio described the request as an additional ₱30 billion for AICS, and Nava confirmed that this was the department’s request. The request and restoration had no recorded approval or vote in this exchange.

Tinio said the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) had ₱9.6 billion in 2016, or 13% of the GAA, and ₱5.3 billion in fiscal year 2026, a 45% decline. He cited a ₱5.1 billion amount in the current NEP and asked how much DSWD requested. Nava said the SLP request was around ₱10 billion; he also said its initial target had been ₱10 billion but only ₱6 billion was approved. Tinio argued that SLP should grow to help 4Ps graduates establish livelihoods. The source does not identify the fiscal-year basis of the stated ₱6 billion approval, and no approval of the later request is recorded in this round.

Tinio argued that assistance should function as a safety net alongside durable employment and livelihoods. He criticized the growth of aid distributed through politicians and questioned whether patronage-based programs should keep expanding. Nava said the department’s requests reflected current uncertainty and the need for immediate, temporary relief, citing about ₱9 billion in emergency assistance to 1.9 million transport workers during the year. Tinio maintained that these aid programs should not replace long-term employment and livelihood measures.

Nava said the monthly social pension was ₱1,000 for 4.2 million senior citizens without income or retirement benefits who are identified through CBMS. He said the monthly amount had been ₱500 before it was raised last year. Asked about expanding coverage, he said the goal was universal social pension, that reaching it could require doubling the existing amount, and gave tentative estimates of around 10 million people, then 10 million more beneficiaries and perhaps ₱10 billion more. These estimates did not establish a clear total cost or coverage target for universal pension. Tinio asked the Committee on Appropriations to consider raising the benefit to ₱1,500 for the existing 4 million recipients. Nava confirmed that DSWD had requested additional social-pension funds, but did not give the amount of that request. The exchange records a department request and Tinio’s proposal for consideration; it records no appropriation approval or disposition.

DSWD deliberations concluded: Representative Antonio L. Tinio moved to end deliberations on the proposed budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), saying no other minority member wished to interpellate. Representative Marie Bernadette G. Escudero joined the motion on behalf of the majority. Deputy Speaker Mercedes K. Alvarez restated the joint motion to terminate interpellations for DSWD and its attached or supervised agencies, called for objections, heard none and declared the motion approved. The ruling formally closed DSWD’s interpellation period.

Department of Health (DOH): Representative Albert S. Garcia sponsored the Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) proposal for FY 2027. He presented the hospital, workforce, patient-assistance and public-health programs funded by it.

Garcia broke down the new appropriations into ₱110.367 billion for personal services, ₱134.232 billion for maintenance and other operating expenses, and ₱19.026 billion for capital outlays. He said ₱161.886 billion, or 61%, would go directly to the 17 regions, with ₱101.739 billion for central operations.

He listed five DOH operating programs: Health Facilities Operation, ₱133.335 billion; Local Health System Support, ₱69.613 billion; Social Health Protection, ₱27.989 billion; Health Policy and Systems Strengthening, ₱9.667 billion; and Health Regulatory, ₱1.583 billion.

Garcia assigned ₱107.291 billion to hospital services for DOH regional hospitals and other facilities, and ₱28.189 billion to DOH hospitals in Metro Manila. He cited ₱25.395 billion for the national health workforce support system and ₱24.239 billion for medical assistance to indigent and financially incapacitated patients, including the Malasakit Centers.

He listed ₱14.540 billion for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program to build, upgrade and equip government facilities; ₱9.095 billion for essential family-health, immunization and nutrition commodities; ₱3.751 billion for the Cancer Assistance Fund; ₱1.314 billion for cancer-control commodities; and ₱500 million for the Quick Response Fund for calamities and disease outbreaks.

Garcia said the program would be carried by 99,143 authorized positions. He highlighted special provisions retaining hospital income for hospital use; prioritizing health-worker deployment in fourth- and fifth-class municipalities, geographically isolated areas and Indigenous communities; and publishing medical-assistance recipients in aggregated, anonymized form. He connected the proposed spending to the constitutional right to health and the Universal Health Care Act, and urged the House to give the FY2027 DOH and PhilHealth budget favorable consideration.

Rep. Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando: Representative Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando opened his interpellation of Department of Health (DOH) sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia with questions on the Universal Health Care Act and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)’s outpatient primary-care package, now called YAKAP. San Fernando cited the 2024 figures that the package accounted for 2.2% of PhilHealth benefit expense and reached fewer than 2% of the population. Garcia gave an updated figure of 15.5%, offered supporting documents, and reported 17.26 million people actively engaged in YAKAP as of July 31, 2026, against a goal of 60 million by 2027. The answer did not specify the denominator for 15.5%. Garcia agreed to provide written responses for civil-society groups.

San Fernando also cited household out-of-pocket health spending of 42.7% in 2024 and asked how DOH and PhilHealth would meet the 28.1% target by 2028. Garcia outlined six financing reforms: standardize professional fees; shift toward diagnosis-related groups and prospective payment; make national subsidies and appropriations predictable; regularly update clinical guidelines; speed Health Technology Assessment reviews; and rationalize and integrate health financing. He supplied a quarter-by-quarter roadmap for benefit expansion through 2028, including maternity and leptospirosis coverage in 2026, cancer and other disease packages in 2027–28, and mental-health and other packages; he offered to submit the detailed roadmap.

San Fernando cited the proposed 2027 PhilHealth budget of ₱74.45 billion for premium subsidies covering 11.09 million qualified beneficiaries, compared with PhilHealth’s reported 30.74 million indirect contributors. He asked why about 19 million others were not included and who determines eligibility. Garcia said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)’s assigned amount covered the listed 11 million but responded that universal health coverage applied to everyone; he did not explain the selection criteria. San Fernando cited a prior House appropriations estimate that PhilHealth needed at least ₱244 billion, leaving a ₱170 billion gap against the proposed subsidy, and urged Congress to add the amount before the GAA was finalized. Garcia described efforts to seek national-government funding and improve collections from paying members, including engagement with the Social Security System (SSS), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Asked whether he would support an amendment to close the gap, Garcia said he and the PhilHealth sponsor personally favored it, subject to the Committee and members. No additional appropriation was approved in this exchange.

San Fernando asked how DOH was implementing the Filipino Sign Language Act in government health facilities and whether private facilities were complying. Garcia cited DOH circulars issued in 2020 and 2026, disability-sensitivity and basic sign-language training, and accessible health-promotion materials. He said implementation was supported through existing programs and office budgets; when asked for prior-year and 2027 amounts, he agreed to provide a segregated report. On interpreter staffing, Garcia answered yes to whether interpreters were included in the health workforce plan, but described an initiative to train health workers rather than confirming plantilla positions. He said DOH and local governments sought guidance from the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino and the University of the Philippines, and promised information on training, targets and budget.

Garcia reported ₱3.34 billion in the 2027 National Expenditure Program for mental-health-related programs under noncommunicable-disease prevention and control. He described governance, literacy and promotion, peer, school and workplace services, psychological first aid, screening and treatment access, community services, rehabilitation, and inpatient and outpatient benefits. He reported 432 general and 21 specialty mental-health providers, along with workforce counts for psychologists, psychiatrists, developmental pediatricians, speech pathologists and occupational therapists; only 12 speech pathologists and 246 occupational therapists were in health facilities. Garcia said DOH had trained 5,249 personnel under the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), reaching about 85.06% of rural health units as of September 2026, with training continuing. He promised supporting data.

San Fernando asked how DOH would address health-worker maldistribution and brain drain under the National Health Human Resource Master Plan, including allied workers such as sanitation inspectors, emergency medical technicians and community nutrition workers. Garcia said 82 medical schools were operating and government-supported medical scholars increased from 508 in academic year 2017–18 to about 3,507 in 2025–26, largely through the Medical Scholarship and Return Service program. Garcia agreed to provide a Purok Kalusugan report, including information on barangay health workers and sitio coordinators, and other requested workforce information. San Fernando thanked Social Watch Philippines and the Alternative Budget Initiative and called for continued dialogue.

Rep. Iris Marie Demesa Montes: Representative Iris Marie Demesa Montes asked whether Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funding was sufficient for Universal Health Care (UHC) milestones. Representative Albert S. Garcia, the sponsor, said appropriations would never be sufficient but the agencies would work efficiently with the amounts recommended by the Executive and provided by Congress. Montes referred to the law and Supreme Court ruling ordering the return of ₱60 billion to PhilHealth, then asked whether all mandated counterpart contributions had been provided.

Garcia cited a PhilHealth computation of about ₱199.44 billion in mandated funding that had not been appropriated. He said ₱133.22 billion was supposedly from sin-tax earmarks for 2023–2027 and ₱62.22 billion should come from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for 2019–2027, but had not been appropriated. Those two figures do not add to the reported total, and Garcia did not reconcile the difference. Montes confirmed the calculation used actual collections.

Separately, Garcia put appropriated but unreleased amounts at ₱112.048 billion, confirming they were not included in the ₱199.44 billion. He gave ₱311.49 billion as the combined total and confirmed it included PhilHealth’s zero allocation in 2025. Montes asked whether full contributions could reduce household out-of-pocket costs; Garcia said, speculatively, that household out-of-pocket costs might fall by 10–15%, while paying members’ contributions remained set by law.

Montes outlined six UHC funding streams, including a 50% PAGCOR share and 40% of PCSO net charity funds, and asked how “national government subsidy” was counted. Garcia said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) was best placed to clarify; DOH and PhilHealth treated collections, earmarks and subsidies together because the funds had to pass through appropriations. Montes said she would seek DBM clarification and argued the subsidy should also cover special-law obligations, including benefits for solo parents and senior citizens. She asked whether supplemental funding had been requested when amounts were short. Garcia said DOH and PhilHealth regularly requested both amounts above the Executive’s proposals and appropriated funds that had not been released; under new leadership, partial amounts had begun to be provided during the year.

On service delivery, Montes asked when disease-related groupings would make benefit packages more efficient. Garcia said the diagnosis-related group had been created and would begin in 2027 with five private hospitals and ten DOH hospitals.

Montes asked about UHC law bed-capacity rules for zero-balance billing: a 90% ward allocation in government hospitals, 10% in private hospitals and 70% in specialty hospitals. Garcia said the 90% government-hospital allocation was implemented and monitored by DOH. He proposed making the 10% private-hospital ward allocation a condition of agreements with private hospitals receiving substantial assistance for indigent patients, while PhilHealth improves its packages. Montes supported improving these agreements to make private hospitals more willing to participate and serve patients who overflow from government facilities. She said specialty hospitals remained difficult to bring into compliance; Garcia said the DOH Secretary would focus on bringing them into line with universal healthcare.

Montes said the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GCG) had told her the PhilHealth reorganization was approved and implementation was beginning. Garcia reported Phase 1 at 45%, due to finish by October, and Phase 2 due by December 15 of that year.

Asked how widely local health systems were integrated, Garcia said 87 of 120 local government units—provinces and highly urbanized cities—had a special health fund and a functioning local health provider network. Montes linked the issue to a three-package policy loan she said involved the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Garcia clarified that the ADB partnership was a policy loan providing technical assistance rather than funds arriving at the agencies. He said DOH and PhilHealth planned to promote integration in 2027, scale the PCPN pilot from four to ten provinces and cities, and expand HCPN from zero to five.

Montes asked whether health and health-related data were being submitted to PhilHealth to support research, health-systems development and targeted interventions. Garcia said this was part of a World Bank loan and would be procured during the year to create the National Health Data Repository. She also asked about an interoperable electronic health-information system to improve data access and claims processing. Garcia said its guidelines and system were being set so health systems could connect.

In closing, Montes called on the National Government to continue supporting PhilHealth funding for FY2027 so UHC could help ease families’ financial hardship. No funding disposition is recorded in this exchange.

Rep. Percival "Perci" Cendaña: In this Department of Health (DOH) round, Representative Percival “Perci” Cendaña asked about the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)’s outstanding government receivables. DOH sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia confirmed about ₱112 billion in appropriated funds not yet received, comprising ₱69.41 billion from sin taxes and ₱42.34 billion from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). Garcia stated ₱240 billion for indirect-contributor costs “for this year”; Cendaña characterized ₱240 billion as the government amount due and ₱112 billion from PCSO/PAGCOR, and Garcia agreed that PhilHealth was not receiving enough for premium subsidies and sin-tax transfers. For 2027, Garcia put the remaining gap to fully cover indirect-contributor services at ₱170 billion.

Garcia reported 33.3 million registered direct contributors and ₱209 billion in contributions. Of those, 10.5 million—about 31 percent—paid consistently for all 12 months. Asked for active Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) contributor counts, Garcia said the roughly 18 million estimate referred to SSS only; PhilHealth was still validating the figures and would provide the GSIS count later. Cendaña urged more efficient premium collection through SSS, GSIS and potentially the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Garcia said current coordination involved data sharing, while DOH and PhilHealth were pursuing partner agencies and government corporations collecting premiums on PhilHealth’s behalf. High-level talks with the agencies and Department of Finance were underway, without a firm implementation timeline; Cendaña offered legislative support if needed.

Asked what members could expect in 2027, Garcia listed tuberculosis package changes (including FLDs in “gamot” and enhanced NDOTS/MDR packages), HIV “HOPE Treats” and “HOPE Prevents” circulars, and family-planning contraceptives in “gamot,” with January 1, 2027 dates stated for the tuberculosis and family-planning items and December 1 for the HIV circular. He said packages for cervical, prostate, lung, liver, uterine and ovarian cancers were under development for 2027; hepatitis and leprosy packages were also under development. The maternity and newborn package had been enhanced and issued in May, postpartum contraception work was ongoing, leukemia coverage for children with disabilities was due in the fourth quarter “of this year,” and the children-with-disability Z package was under review. Cardiac-arrhythmia and congenital-heart-disorder packages were under study. Garcia said dental coverage was targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.

Cendaña asked whether the DOH considered long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), lenacapavir, a critically needed drug and a potential game changer for HIV prevention. Garcia said yes, citing DOH Administrative Order No. 2026-0005, and said the medicine was one option still being validated. Asked when the required determination would be signed, Garcia said the DOH Secretary was fast-tracking work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but gave no signing date. He defined the FDA fast-track period as 20 calendar days after compliance submission; compliance had not yet been submitted, with October 9 given as the local certificate-of-product-registration submission target. Cendaña calculated about October 29, as his estimate; the product could be used for the specified cohort once registered.

Cendaña asked about short-acting contraceptives in the postpartum Maternal Care Package (MCP), citing rapid repeat pregnancies within 24 months and associated risks to mothers and infants. Garcia said the expanded MCP was planned for the third quarter of 2027 and would provide three months of contraceptives free to mothers; he confirmed it was included in the 2027 budget. He estimated MCP costs at ₱6 billion for hospital services and ₱4.7 billion for non-hospital services. Implants are a separate family-planning package, not part of the MCP; Garcia confirmed teen mothers could avail of them. Cendaña commended the response to women’s unmet needs and expressed Akbayan’s support for the DOH and PhilHealth request to increase their 2027 budgets.

Rep. Jesus "Bong" C. Suntay: Representative Jesus “Bong” C. Suntay questioned the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) subsidy for indirect contributors under the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act. He cited ₱55.42 billion for 30.74 million beneficiaries, or ₱1,803 per person annually, and asked who set the rate. Department of Health (DOH) sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia said PhilHealth favored a budget-based approach instead of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)’s headcount basis for planning, acknowledged a funding deficit, and said PhilHealth sought to collect the balance. Garcia later said the UHC funding pool includes sin taxes, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), paying members and national subsidy, and that PhilHealth would cover eligible claimants; he said more efficient collections were needed.

Suntay contrasted the allocation with a separate DBM announcement of ₱74.45 billion in proposed 2027 premium subsidies for 11.09 million qualified beneficiaries, against 30.74 million indirect contributors. Garcia said PhilHealth considered all eligible people covered and acknowledged discrepancies between its figures and DBM’s. Citing a prior PhilHealth estimate of a ₱244 billion minimum subsidy, Suntay said the ₱74.45 billion NEP amount left about ₱170 billion short, noted reserve pressure, and urged Congress to fund the gap. Garcia said he would support additional funding if fiscal space allowed and agreed health should be prioritized; no additional appropriation was adopted.

Suntay cited the UHC Act’s earmarks of 50% of the national government’s share of PAGCOR gaming revenue and 40% of PCSO’s charity fund for PhilHealth. He said the Bureau of the Treasury had certified ₱127.55 billion in PAGCOR and PCSO remittances since 2019, while PhilHealth had received none because DBM had not issued a notice of cash allotment; Garcia confirmed this and said PhilHealth continued to seek the balances, while the reason was beyond them. Garcia agreed Congress could act collectively. Suntay also cited, if his figure was correct, ₱75.2 billion in 2027 sin-tax revenue earmarked for indirect-contributor subsidies versus ₱55.42 billion in the NEP and asked about a ₱19.58 billion difference. Garcia pointed to a separate approximately ₱19 billion NEP line for benefit expansion, then listed phased package additions including TB, HIV, sexually transmitted infections and cervical and prostate cancer in 2027, with further packages through 2028. He agreed to provide the full updated coverage list.

Suntay argued that separate assistance schemes such as Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and zero-balance billing perpetuated fragmented financing, and urged channeling more public resources through PhilHealth. Garcia said DOH and PhilHealth leadership agreed with the direction but described MAIFIP as a temporary stopgap while benefit packages expand. For illustration, Garcia said PhilHealth might cover 15–20% of a ₱100,000 private-hospital bill under a DOH agreement, with MAIFIP helping reduce the patient’s remaining out-of-pocket cost. Garcia said coverage would shift gradually toward PhilHealth, described planned compliance with the 10% ward requirement in private-hospital agreements, and said online e-MAIFIP applications were in progress. Suntay raised unequal local access and urged equal assistance regardless of district or political sponsorship; Garcia said reforms were being accelerated while MAIFIP remained necessary during transition.

Suntay also asked why the mental-health budget had declined from ₱1.5 billion in 2025. Garcia replied that PhilHealth’s mental-health package would cover services affected by the reduction; the current allocation was not stated.

Suntay asked DOH to help restore the Lung Center of the Philippines’ west wing, which he said burned in 1989 and reduced capacity from 400 beds to 170, and to expand East Avenue Medical Center. He cited East Avenue’s increase from 600 to 1,000 beds, a goal of 1,500, and about 1,200 patients, and requested an update on a building under construction. Garcia said the Health Secretary supported the requests, mentioned possible Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) funds and Lung Center retained income for the burned wing, and said DOH would check whether East Avenue was included in the 2027 HFEP proposal. Suntay raised concerns that HFEP facilities could remain unused without local-government staffing, citing his recollection that only 200 of 600 facilities were in use. Garcia said DOH was inventorying HFEP facilities and would tighten partnerships with local governments ready to operate and staff them; he agreed to submit the East Avenue update. Suntay expressed full support for the DOH budget and urged more funding, especially for UHC..

Rep. Sergio C. Dagooc: Representative Sergio C. Dagooc warned that super health centers were being fitted with 50-kVA transformers sized for X-ray and other medical equipment even when the facility had no nurse and the equipment was absent. These transformers impose installation and minimum charges, and the local government unit (LGU) can then struggle to pay and face disconnection after turnover. He urged right-sizing the transformer and initially connecting projects to a shared transformer, adding dedicated service only when equipment is acquired. Department of Health (DOH) sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia agreed that LGUs often cannot fund responsibilities in their memoranda of agreement. He said DOH would set prerequisites to confirm LGU responsibilities before project implementation and create a hospital cluster, with the Health Facility Development Bureau handling design and a central-office project manager overseeing regional Centers for Health Development and LGU Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) projects to reduce waste and inefficiency.

Dagooc cited data he said came from a Commission on Audit (COA) report: about 338 medical-equipment contracts worth ₱242 million were reportedly undelivered. Garcia asked which year the report covered so DOH could check it; Dagooc had no year to provide. Dagooc also cited 488 delayed or unfinished health infrastructure projects amounting to ₱17.2 billion and asked the sponsor to correct him if the figures were wrong. Garcia did not confirm the figures in this exchange; he agreed that project oversight changes would address the problems and asked Dagooc to provide more details so the regional office could visit and remedy the specific cases. Dagooc stressed that the examples could reflect broader problems: facilities built without staff or appropriate scale can remain unused or serve as storage, so project selection should first test local need, staffing and equipment readiness.

Rep. Presley C. De Jesus: Representative Presley C. De Jesus asked whether the Department of Health (DOH) offered hotlines, video calls or mobile-app medical advice for people needing help after hours or far from care. DOH sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia cited the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) crisis hotline at 1553, available 24/7; it had handled 129,488 calls since opening in May 2019. He clarified that the hotline was government-run but available to anyone. De Jesus praised the DOH’s MAIFIP program, while describing cases where private doctors declined MAIFIP professional-fee payments and legislators sometimes advanced money for indigent patients. Garcia acknowledged this as a nationwide problem. He said new memoranda of agreement (MOAs) with private hospitals would add guidelines to check hospital bills and professional fees; hospitals opting in would join the system, with fee rates set at an appropriate level, and participating doctors would be covered by the MAIFIP fee arrangement. De Jesus welcomed the proposal and asked about timing.

Garcia added that private hospitals would be required under the new arrangements to establish ward beds equal to 10% of their capacity, increasing lower-cost access alongside government hospitals. He said implementation was already underway with large private hospitals including St. Luke’s, Asian Hospital and The Medical City, plus six large hospitals in Iloilo, and that the DOH Secretary and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) leadership would continue the effort. De Jesus said he supported the DOH budget and welcomed the reforms, particularly if they enabled doctors to accept MAIFIP fees and helped patients receive care.

Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago: Representative Sarah Jane I. Elago said the Department of Health (DOH)’s budget breakdown showed a 17-million-peso suballotment for regional Centers for Health Development (CHDs) to support Women and Children Protection Unit (WCPU) operations, while each CHD and each DOH hospital received 1 million pesos. She asked why allocations were uniform rather than based on case volume, population and local need. DOH sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia said the current purpose was capacity building: training providers, developing policies and clinical guidelines, and violence-prevention advocacy. He added that PhilHealth packages cover expenses for abuse survivors. Asked whether capacity building also covered staffing, Garcia said personnel needs were included, but no plantilla positions were available; hiring would use job-order personnel as needed. Elago also requested spending and needs data for each unit and urged priority handling of sexual-assault survivors so forensic evidence could be collected promptly.

Elago said a DOH report showed 38 formal Anti-Hospital Detention Act complaints since 2017, but the Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau (HFSRB) explained that many contacts were requests for help with promissory notes or release of patients, remains or medical documents rather than formal complaints. It had assisted about 2,964 hospital-assistance requests nationwide, but did not maintain a centralized record of their disposition. Elago urged provincial or regional recording, describing patients’ out-of-pocket burdens, collateralized homes and land, and debts that can persist after a patient dies. Garcia said DOH and PhilHealth were taking initiatives, including a forthcoming memorandum of agreement with private hospitals requiring 10% of bed capacity for ward beds; he said this could open thousands or tens of thousands of beds. He also described opt-in terms for hospitals to accept MAIFIP assistance for bills and professional fees, the 1553 complaints hotline and a planned professionally run nationwide call center. The answer described assistance and complaint-access measures but did not expressly confirm a centralized case-disposition repository.

Elago said HFSRB had no standards governing interest rates or other financial terms in promissory notes and collateral arrangements. She cited a case with compound interest reportedly increasing at 2%, 3% or 4% per month and asked DOH to study ways to curb excessive terms. She acknowledged hospitals’ need for operating funds when assistance payments are delayed, while saying that need did not justify profiteering that harms patients’ right to health. The discussion moved to GAD funding without a sponsor response to this request.

Elago compared DOH’s 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) gender and development (GAD) allocation of 190 million pesos with the 151.6 million pesos in the 2027 proposal and asked which programs would be reduced or stopped.

Garcia answered with 2025 GAD accomplishments and reported allocations: 1.3 billion pesos for maternal and child health; 1.1 billion for elderly and persons-with-disabilities health; 518 million for reproductive-tract cancer screening; 159 million for HIV and AIDS services; 153 million for disaster-risk-reduction and management (DRRM) health response; 148 million for mental health; 135 million for reproductive health and family planning; 122 million for tuberculosis and substance use; 49 million for men’s prostate cancer; 11 million for Indigenous women’s health; and 8 million for LGBTQIA+ health advocacy.

These prior-year examples did not identify which programs would be reduced under the 2027 proposal.

Asked for the Health Promotion Bureau’s HIV-prevention information and education budget, Garcia reported 125 million pesos in 2025, a 99.833-million-peso 2026 GAA allocation and a 283.813-million-peso 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) proposal. Elago welcomed the proposed increase but requested the detailed breakdown before seeking further augmentation, to check that school, community and online partnerships could continue and expand. She urged that DOH hospital budgets be increased, zero-balance billing be extended to local-government hospitals, and Magna Carta protections and adequate compensation cover healthcare workers in both public and private facilities. Garcia said DOH would provide the requested data; no augmentation or other funding disposition was recorded in this exchange.

Rep. Cielo Krisel Lagman: Representative Cielo Krisel Lagman cited Philippine Statistics Authority records of 3,379 suicide deaths in 2024, 246 more than the 3,133 reported in 2023, and asked why the Department of Health (DOH) mental-health budget fell from ₱1.5 billion in 2025 to a later cited figure of ₱742.6 million, with ₱300 million proposed for 2027. DOH sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia said the Department had requested more but received less because of fiscal space. He said the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was absorbing mental-health services through YAKAP screening, mental-health medicines under GAMOT beginning January 2027, and consultation packages with cited amounts of ₱9,000 for general and ₱16,000 for specialist care. Asked how DOH would use the remaining ₱300 million, Garcia said it would purchase commodities, including medicines, until PhilHealth packages began.

Garcia clarified that health-promotion and prevention funding was separate from, and on top of, the ₱300 million mental-health proposal. He gave 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) funding of ₱123.485 million, 2026 GAA funding of ₱224.138 million and a 2027 NEP proposal of ₱246.542 million. He described technical support for a community mental-health playbook and youth-led peer-support groups, then being replicated in 54 cities and municipalities, with school adoption being prepared. Lagman cited a 2026 analysis estimating 409 psychiatrists. Garcia acknowledged the shortage and described a planned mental-health call center, psychologist positions upgraded from Salary Grade 16 to 20, expanded training, and 356 nurses already certified in mental health. He said the DOH was pursuing a multidisciplinary, tiered model, with primary-care teams delivering community services and psychiatrists and psychologists supporting more complex cases.

Lagman asked how local governments could strengthen community mental-health programs and what DOH assistance was available. Garcia endorsed local leadership and described DOH partnerships in Bataan, including the DOH-run Mariveles Mental Health Facility; Lagman noted mental-health providers and a PhilHealth-accredited treatment and rehabilitation center in Albay. On sin-tax use, Lagman asked about the 10% share she understood to fund MAIFIP and the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), and requested spending outcomes. Garcia stated that 20% of sin-tax funds was allocated to HFEP and MAIFIP. He said DOH was inventorying facilities and would tighten agreements with local governments, requiring staffing and other commitments so new facilities could operate; Garcia offered to submit a MAIFIP report. He described MAIFIP as a bridge while PhilHealth coverage expanded, estimating packages covered about one-fifth of out-of-pocket costs. Lagman proposed directing a share of the sweetened-beverage tax toward nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive local programs without reducing the existing 50% share divided between PhilHealth and DOH. Garcia supported the proposal, subject to any required legal amendment, and said DOH could partner with local governments that had strong programs. No amendment or allocation change was adopted in this exchange.

Rep. Renee Louise M. Co: Representative Renee Louise M. Co asked about the shortage of mental-health practitioners, citing 14,164 newly licensed psychometricians and 64,194 psychometricians in total, 490 of 560 candidates passing the psychologist licensure exam, and an average of 300 guidance-counseling graduates yearly. Department of Health (DOH) sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia cited the World Health Organization (WHO) ideal of one mental-health practitioner per 10,000 people. Asked about the current ratio, he cited 0.4–0.5 per 10,000 people. Co asked how DOH would attract more students to the field. Garcia cited a scholarship partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), return-service and career pathways, and a Medical Scholarship Pathway. When Co asked for the scholarship details and its funding line, Garcia said the scholarship funding was lodged with CHED, DOH provided certification, and he would submit the amount and details; Co requested that report, and Garcia agreed.

Co cited the Mental Health Act’s school provisions, including age-appropriate curriculum, mental-health instruction in medical and allied-health courses, and school policies, awareness, support and services. Garcia said DOH’s Health Promotion Bureau ran the Be a Safe Space campaign and a 24-hour National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) crisis hotline at 1553, and used the Healthy Learning Institutions Framework to promote mental-health literacy and psychological first aid and equip teachers, parents and peers to identify warning signs, offer initial support and refer people to care. Co requested reports on these programs and DOH agreed to comply. She also raised a cut to NCMH maintenance and other operating expenses, with an unclear amount in the transcript, alongside staffing concerns: one nurse for two pavilions, each serving 100–150 patients, and one nurse attendant for every seven to nine patients. She asked that mental-health needs be reflected in DOH programs and the report on school integration.

Co asked about mandatory Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) premiums for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), noting a circular that set contributions at 3% of income with the rate increasing by 0.5% yearly through 2024. Garcia gave premium contributions of ₱278 million in 2021, ₱268 million in 2022, ₱247 million in 2023, ₱190 million in 2024, ₱151 million in 2025 and ₱77 million as of June 2026. He said 31,805 of 1,350,531 migrant workers had paid a full 12 months in the prior 12 months, a 2.4% compliance rate. Co estimated the 2021–2026 total at about ₱1.111 billion and Garcia put it at 0.07% of total PhilHealth contributions; the estimate does not match the annual amounts he gave. Co questioned keeping contributions mandatory given low compliance, workers’ financial circumstances, and different health coverage abroad, and proposed voluntary or better-targeted contributions. Garcia said compliance had fallen after a pandemic-era Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) advisory temporarily removed the requirement; PhilHealth wanted all mandated contributions to support services, and migrant workers and their dependents could use PhilHealth packages, including reimbursement for care received abroad. Co said the issue could be studied further and noted House Bill 600, filed by the Makabayan Bloc, to remove mandatory migrant-worker contributions.

Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula: Representative Dadah Kiram Ismula said out-of-pocket payments remained 44% of health spending and illustrated the burden with an 80,000-peso payment on a 200,000-peso hospital bill. She asked for the five most-claimed medical case rates of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). Department of Health (DOH) sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia listed pneumonia, acute gastroenteritis, urinary tract infection (UTI), dengue and acute gastritis. PhilHealth had no case-specific out-of-pocket data for those five; Garcia gave an overall estimate of 39% to 42% in private facilities and said the share was much lower in government hospitals. Asked why patients still paid despite payroll contributions, he said PhilHealth was expanding benefit packages and that the five cases could also be addressed through its YAKAP primary-care program.

Asked what full coverage of the five or ten most-claimed conditions might cost, Garcia said PhilHealth had no ready estimate for those cases. For scale, he reported 329 billion pesos paid in claims in 2025 and estimated that benefit payments of roughly 620 billion would have been needed to bring the out-of-pocket share to about 25%. For a 15% out-of-pocket target, he gave a separate 2025 estimate of 794 billion pesos, against 329 billion pesos paid in 2025 claims. He said the figures indicated a need for substantially greater health financing.

Asked about catastrophic diseases, he had no disease-specific out-of-pocket figure available but offered broader averages: patients shouldered about 58% of costs in private facilities and 71% in government facilities. Ismula urged greater PhilHealth coverage or zero patient payments for serious chronic illnesses and requested more data to estimate coverage costs.

For 2025 breast-cancer claims, Ismula asked Garcia to confirm a reported total of 239 million pesos. Garcia corrected it to 499.38 million pesos for 4,145 claims, averaging 120,477 pesos per claim. He clarified that 1.4 million pesos was the maximum breast-cancer benefit, not the average; he later rounded the average to 120,000 pesos and said only three of the 4,145 claims reached the cap. Asked whether PhilHealth planned to expand costly-disease benefits, Garcia said yes and described an evidence-based prioritization framework developed with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

Ismula cited the PhilHealth proposal of 379 billion pesos, of which she said only 73 billion pesos entered the 2027 NEP, and asked for the proposal’s basis. Garcia said DOH and PhilHealth had recalculated the amount based on payouts, describing a figure of 376 billion pesos and a revised 244 billion pesos. The exchange did not reconcile the 379-billion proposal, the 376-billion starting figure or the 244-billion revised amount with the 73 billion in the NEP. Garcia confirmed projected revenues earmarked by law for Universal Health Care (UHC), including sin-tax collections, had been included in the earlier calculation. Ismula cited a Department of Budget and Management (DBM) report of a further 140 billion pesos in UHC sin-tax revenue balance and asked how PhilHealth would use it if released; Garcia said it would go to benefit payouts and package expansion. This remained conditional on release, not a confirmed transfer.

Responding to questions relayed for Representative Leila M. de Lima, Garcia said DOH submits staffing requests to DBM when a hospital is upgraded. He said a Notice of Staffing and Compensation Action (NOSCA) generally takes two to four months, while full staffing can take three to five years; he offered to provide hospital-specific staffing-pattern and compliance data. For local-government hospitals, he said the LGU submits plantilla requests to DBM, but did not address whether DOH provides counterpart financial assistance.

On Republic Act No. 12231, the Government Optimization Act, Garcia said an organizational review was under way with Asian Development Bank support. He expected staffing growth to focus on regional and frontline services, including at LGUs, while the central level would not expand; Ismula urged that doctors, nurses and other frontline health workers be exempted from optimization and expressed support for increasing PhilHealth’s budget.

Rep. Antonio L. Tinio: Representative Antonio L. Tinio compared Department of Health (DOH) Office of the Secretary budgets and the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) component, noting that Congress raised General Appropriations Act (GAA) amounts above National Expenditure Program (NEP) proposals from 2019 onward. He cited MAIFIP funding rising from ₱1.4 billion in 2016 to ₱58 billion in 2024; for 2026, he cited a ₱51 billion GAA amount after a roughly ₱24 billion NEP proposal, and a roughly ₱24 billion 2027 NEP proposal. DOH sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia said the Department’s 2027 MAIFIP request was about ₱63 billion in total, while the NEP included ₱24.2 billion, which he described as a substantial cut; the ₱63 billion was the total request, not an additional amount on top of the NEP. Garcia said MAIFIP utilization was high and DOH would welcome more funding for the program.

Tinio criticized MAIFIP as discretionary and difficult for patients to access without a legislator’s or senator’s referral or guarantee letter, contrasting it with Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) entitlement and zero-balance billing in government wards. He asked whether DOH tracked referrals versus walk-ins and whether walk-in patients could receive assistance. Garcia said the goal was to institutionalize universal health coverage through larger PhilHealth packages; while packages were being expanded through 2026–28 and earmarked funds pursued, MAIFIP remained a stopgap to reduce out-of-pocket costs. Garcia said online MAIFIP access through the e-government app was being developed, offered to submit referral/walk-in data, and confirmed that walk-ins could access the program.

Using DOH data, Tinio corrected an initial figure of 129,950 to 120,915 total authorized public and private beds nationwide in 2026. He said the national split was 51% government and 49% private, which Garcia confirmed; he highlighted regional imbalance, including 73% government beds in BARMM but only 27% government beds in Calabarzon. Tinio said the DOH standard was 1.5 beds per 1,000 people: NCR was above it at 2.19, while Central Luzon was at 0.97, Calabarzon 0.8, MIMAROPA 0.68 and BARMM 0.25. He estimated 48,200 additional beds were needed. Tinio also cited additions of 2,860 beds per year and projected the standard would not be reached until 2072 at 0.85% population growth; this was his extrapolation, not a DOH forecast.

For 2023–26 additions, Tinio first stated 7,145 beds and then gave 7,315; he separately reported 6,612 government and 533 private beds, without reconciling those totals. He said 27% of additions were in NCR and public hospitals accounted for most of the increase.

Garcia outlined a planned central hospital cluster, HFEP inventory and targeted regional projects with local governments. He said DOH would implement the 10% private-hospital ward-bed requirement through opt-in MOAs with billing and MAIFIP-fee conditions, and cited tariff-free capital-goods import incentives to encourage private investment.

Tinio questioned gaps between licensed and actual capacity at Mariveles Mental Wellness and General Hospital (518 versus 18 beds), Region 1 Medical Center (600 versus 300), and Bicol Medical Center (1,000 versus 800). Garcia said Mariveles was being reclassified to include a general-hospital component and that workforce shortages made it difficult to fill plantilla positions; he did not explain the other two examples. Tinio said private hospitals had added only 533 beds, and licensed beds not yet in use could be targeted. Tinio also reported hospital MOOE cuts from 3% to 75%, with one hospital’s MOOE at zero after a 100% reduction, and personnel-services cuts despite staffing shortages. Garcia said DBM had reduced many cited hospitals’ MOOE while DOH appealed; he suggested retained earnings may have informed some cuts and said some hospitals were not yet operational. Tinio supported restoring and increasing operating and personnel funds. No specific restoration amount or final disposition was recorded.

Rep. Roberto Nazal: Representative Roberto Nazal asked when the government share of employed solo parents’ Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) contributions under Republic Act 11861 would be funded and implemented for 2027. Sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia announced that implementation took effect that day: employed solo parents would no longer have payroll deductions because PhilHealth would cover their contributions. Nazal welcomed the news.

Nazal asked about the “blue pill” distributed at health centers for HIV prevention. Garcia identified it as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), said minors needed parental consent, and said dispensing required endorsement by a health professional. Nazal urged age-appropriate materials for minors to teach abstinence, delayed sexual activity, responsible decisions, family involvement and risks alongside contraception and PrEP. Garcia said Department of Health (DOH) materials included abstinence, reducing sexual partners, condom use, drug prevention with consent and reproductive-health education; he said these were developed with the Department of Education (DepEd) and parents/schools. He agreed to submit the materials, and later assured Nazal that DOH and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) would ensure government-funded materials were age-appropriate and balanced.

Garcia said oral PrEP was budgeted at ₱5.6 million for 2026 and the proposed 2027 amount was ₱16.189 million; he said it was also covered by PhilHealth and reported 11,000 beneficiaries for DOH funding, without specifying the age breakdown Nazal asked for.

Nazal said that as of September 24, DOH supplies of influenza vaccines, some mental-health medicines and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were reportedly unavailable. Garcia said the new DOH and PhilHealth leadership had expedited delivery for October. Asked why earlier procurements were delayed and whether anyone was held accountable, Garcia said legal and procurement complexity contributed, and that the department had identified bottlenecks and was conducting fact-finding on expired supplies. He said the Secretary of Health had joined early procurement planning, a supply-chain consultant would be hired, and the process would be digitized; Garcia committed to submit a complete report.

Nazal cited ₱35.3 billion for the 2025 Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP): ₱19.1 billion for infrastructure, ₱13.3 billion for equipment and ₱2.9 billion for vehicles. He said ₱9.36 billion of the infrastructure budget was transferred to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), then asked about the remaining roughly ₱10 billion. Garcia reported 48% accomplishment on DPWH-transferred projects; for the amount remaining with DOH, he gave ₱9.1 billion and said 43% had been disbursed. The figures were not reconciled in the exchange. Nazal requested a project-by-project completion plan for facilities and equipment, referring to a further ₱14.5 billion in 2027; Garcia agreed to submit it.

Nazal also cited COA’s 488 problematic infrastructure projects worth ₱17.27 billion and 388 equipment contracts involving idle, uninstalled or undelivered equipment. Garcia attributed bottlenecks partly to local-government capacity after facilities were turned over, and said DOH was inventorying projects and planning hospital clusters, revised agreements and prerequisites to ensure LGUs could operate facilities. Nazal suggested performance bonds for delays; Garcia endorsed the suggestion and said project managers and performance bonds were being considered.

Nazal asked for 2024–2026 complaints, confirmed violations and sanctions under the anti-hospital-deposit and anti-detention laws, after hearing reports of patients held for unpaid bills or asked for deposits in emergencies. Garcia said DOH had intervened in 267 discharge requests; he later clarified this count was for 2025 and mostly detention-related, while most complaints concerned deposits. He separately cited 311 requests for less-serious emergencies, without stating a year. Since 2017, 26 complaints had been handled: 17 dismissed, six pending resolution and three hospitals found liable and fined. Garcia said DOH initially warns hospitals depending on severity, but repeat violations with safety issues can lead to penalties and license revocation. He committed to a public call center for complaints. On emergency-care coverage, Nazal asked about patients discharged or held in emergency rooms around the 24-hour mark. Garcia said a PhilHealth policy effective September 18 covered admissions under 24 hours and patients who remained in emergency rooms beyond 24 hours because of a full hospital, if later discharged.

Nazal asked whether PhilHealth would expand diabetes and heart-disease benefits to glucose monitors and cardiac devices such as pacemakers. Garcia said PhilHealth was studying device coverage because of cost, while insulin was already covered under the YAKAP and GAMOT packages; no additional 2027 funding figure was available, and PhilHealth could update Nazal after its review.

Nazal asked how YAKAP payments to local-government units would improve health centers. Garcia said accredited facilities should use the funds to improve services, with primary-care centers able to outsource services through hospital or diagnostic-clinic agreements while building capacity; the original deadline was 2027, though local-government readiness varied. Garcia said DOH monitored whether prescriptions were issued and was shifting medicines into the GAMOT program to provide a reliable supply through pharmacies. Prescriptions currently had to come from accredited providers; Garcia said extending them to other PhilHealth-accredited doctors could be studied, while the current restriction aimed to maintain service quality.

Rep. Jernie Jett V. Nisay: Representative Jernie Jett V. Nisay cited the Department of Health (DOH) briefing that 36 of 82 provinces had no DOH-managed medical facility and asked whether the DOH supported House Bill No. 11349, the Tertiary Hospital in Every Province Act, and how provincial tertiary hospitals could address geographic gaps. Sponsor Representative Albert S. Garcia said yes, particularly for those 36 provinces. Asked which provinces could be served by upgrading or converting existing facilities and which would need new hospitals, Garcia said regional hospital clusters would assess the gaps and determine the strategic interventions; he did not provide a province-by-province assessment in this exchange.

Nisay asked how patients in remote municipalities could obtain psychiatric consultations, emergency intervention or admission without traveling long distances or going to Manila, and proposed mental-health units in provincial hospitals with a patient-navigation and referral system. Garcia described DOH plans to establish a mental-health specialty center or unit in every region under the Regional Specialty Center Act and said an upcoming DOH call center could provide an interim access point. In response to a broader question on mental-health measures, he listed implementation of the Mental Health Act, health literacy and prevention, peer and school/workplace services, screening, community-based treatment and insurance benefits. He reported 2,128 psychologists, 700 psychiatrists, 104 developmental pediatricians and 1,225 speech pathologists, but said these services were then available in only 12 health facilities; he also cited 3,401 occupational therapists across 246 facilities.

Nisay compared the DOH Health Promotion budget in the GAA: ₱528.7 million in 2022, ₱1.9 billion in 2023, ₱1.7 billion in 2024, ₱1.4 billion in 2025 and ₱1.1 billion in 2026. He said this remained below the 1% share of the DOH budget he considered a target. Garcia described 1% as the ideal and put the current share at 0.937%.

He then listed ₱195 million for health governance, policy, monitoring and research; ₱751 million for healthy settings; ₱468 million for health literacy, campaigns and risk communication; ₱316 million for literacy and media campaigns; and ₱60 million for operational support. The exchange did not establish the fiscal year or accounting basis of those categories.

On the DOH 2027 budget presentation, Nisay cited targets of 2,830 schools, 178 workplaces and 45 province-wide or city-wide health systems. He asked how DOH measured behavior change and would expand the Healthy Lifestyle Initiative beyond a small share of roughly 45,000 public schools. Garcia said surveys track awareness and health consciousness, and described seven priority actions including nutrition and physical activity, substance use and mental health. He added that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was coordinating with the Department of Education (DepEd) to cover healthy school settings through YAKAP.

Citing the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2025 Philippine National Health Account, Nisay reported national current health expenditure of ₱1.73 trillion: 46.5% or ₱805 billion from government, 41.2% or ₱714 billion from out-of-pocket payments, and 12.3% or ₱213 billion from voluntary health-care schemes. He said 76.6% went to curative care and medical goods and 9.5% to preventive care, and argued for stronger health promotion.

Nisay urged passage of a National Health Promotion Board Bill and pointed to local ordinances in Balanga, Mariveles and Bataan as examples; he described a board as an added source of local manpower and funding to sustain health-promotion programs. The sponsor did not respond to the bill proposal in the recorded exchange.

DOH interpellations concluded: Floor leader Representative Alyssa Michaela “Mica” M. Gonzales said the majority joined the minority’s motion to terminate interpellations on the proposed Department of Health (DOH) budget. Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand L. Hernandez restated the joint motion, asked for objections, and, hearing none, declared the DOH interpellations terminated, including those for its attached agencies and corporations. This ended questioning; it did not approve the proposed appropriations.

DPWH transition: After the DOH deliberation, the session was suspended for one minute and then resumed. Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand L. Hernandez asked that the gallery be cleared for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), identified as the next agency. Floor leader Representative Ernesto “Ernix” Dionisio Jr. moved to consider DPWH’s proposed budget; Hernandez said, “Please proceed.” Dionisio then repeated the motion. The source ends at that point, without a clear final disposition of the take-up motion or a DPWH presentation. The DPWH deliberations continue in Part 2.