00:00An assurance from the top government official will definitely go a long way in allaying
00:06fears of people who depend on the services provided by PhilHealth.
00:10The president practically guaranteed nothing will change when it comes to the kind of service
00:15the state health insurer provides, regardless of whether it receives government subsidy
00:19or not.
00:20BTV's Kenneth Paciente has the full report.
00:25President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared the government's priority projects will receive
00:29funding in the coming year.
00:31This is the reason why the signing of the proposed national budget for 2025 has been
00:35postponed.
00:36The chief executive explained, the budget still needs to be thoroughly studied, especially
00:40since some government agencies have made changes to their budget requests.
00:44And because the proposal has been approved in a congress, only the veto power of the
00:48chief executive can be used to control the country's spending program for 2025.
00:52I want to be very, very sure that the budget for 2025 is directed at the important projects
01:01that we have prioritized, number one.
01:05And secondly, that there is a stronger safeguards on the spending for the different projects.
01:15He also pointed out the government must be careful in selecting which projects and programs
01:19to prioritize to ensure these will benefit the Filipino people without increasing the
01:23country's debt.
01:24We are starting to see some project proposals that do not have the appropriate program of
01:31work, no appropriate documentation, it's not clear where the money will go, that's what
01:39we will clarify.
01:40That's why we need to go to the right place so that we can pay the debt, so that we can
01:45pay the debt, and that's what we are trying to clarify now.
01:51According to the PCO, the president will still have a series of meetings about this before
01:55the 2025 budget is finally signed.
01:57The chief executive said the budget will be signed before the year ends.
02:01Regarding PhilHealth's budget, although no subsidy was allocated for next year, the president
02:06eased the concerns of many and assured PhilHealth's services will not be affected.
02:10My guarantee is very simple.
02:13Even if there is a subsidy, even if there is no subsidy, even if there is a contribution,
02:17all of these issues, PhilHealth's services will not be affected.
02:24PhilHealth's payment to the insurance claim will not be affected.
02:29In fact, we will increase the services that PhilHealth will provide, we will increase
02:38the services that PhilHealth will provide, we will increase the payment to the insurance claims.
