MANILA, Philippines — PhilHealth’s services to its members will remain unchanged despite the rejection of its proposed 2025 budget by lawmakers, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.  

“I want to assure everyone that no services will be reduced for anyone—whether for seniors, low-income individuals, or the middle class. There will be no cuts, not even a centavo,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.  

Philippine lawmakers faced public criticism after slashing the budget for the state insurer, with some calling for the removal of PhilHealth contributions from the monthly salary deductions.

Earlier this week, the bicameral conference committee declined PhilHealth’s proposed P74 billion budget for 2025, citing that the state insurer still has P600 billion in unutilized funds and will run even without a subsidy according to PhilHealth President and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma.  

Marcos emphasized the government’s commitment to fully utilize PhilHealth’s resources to provide maximum benefits for Filipinos.  

“In 2025, we will increase those benefits. PhilHealth will offer more services and provide higher payouts for insurance claims,” he added.

Some lawmakers, including Marcos Jr.’s older sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, have called for a comprehensive review of the proposed 2025 national budget.

The proposed P6.352 trillion national budget for 2025 has yet to be signed by the president and is expected to be approved before the end of the year, extending beyond the original deadline of before Christmas.