00:00The Office of the Solicitor General is defending the transfer of PhilHealth's 89.9 billion Pesos fund to the National Treasury.
00:08Here are the details on the news of the country of Luis Sairispe.
00:14The Office of the Solicitor General gave a statement that the government is not wrong in transferring the PhilHealth's 89.9 billion Pesos fund to the National Treasury of the Philippines.
00:24In the defense of Soljen Menarto Guevara in an oral argument in the Supreme Court, he insisted that it is not against the law or the Constitution.
00:33It was just done by the government to provide a solution to transfer the fund to government projects because PhilHealth's fund is not being used.
00:55...the government's indebtedness or burdening the people. It is a common sense approach that does not violate any law, much less the Constitution.
01:07But Guevara did not deny that there are no bad plans in transferring the fund. It is really easier if the Philippines will just borrow to have a fund for general appropriations.
01:17However, the debt of the country and every Filipino will be more than 139,000 Pesos each.
01:27Contrary to what has been portrayed by some critics, there was no dark or sinister plan behind the transfer.
01:36We must consider that as of the end of February 2024, the national government debt was already recorded at 15.8 trillion Pesos.
01:50Every Filipino, young and old, rich and poor, abled and disabled, is indebted in the amount of 139,000 Pesos each.
02:02OSG also explained that PhilHealth's fund is not a reserve fund, but a fund that was not used.
02:09Therefore, it is not wrong to return it to the Treasury so that the country can still use it for other projects.
02:15First of all, OSG asked the Supreme Court to remove the name of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as a respondent to the petition.
02:23I would like to respectfully ask the Honorable Court to drop President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as party respondent.
02:32The President of the Republic cannot be sued during his tenure.
02:36DOF Secretary Ralph Recto, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, and DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa joined the oral arguments yesterday.
02:45Before the oral arguments began, petitioners Bayan Muna, Attorney Neri Colmenares, and others protested outside the Supreme Court.
02:55Here, they insisted that PhilHealth should return the fund that should still be used for the healthcare of Filipinos.
03:01The next oral arguments will take place on February 25 in the Supreme Court, as well as the petitions.
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