MANILA — Members of the Save the Philippines Coalition on Monday filed graft, plunder, technical malversation, and grave misconduct complaints against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and former PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma over the transfer of P60 billion from the state health insurer to the national treasury.

In a report, it said that their complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman, the group alleged the fund transfer violated the PhilHealth charter and the Universal Health Care law, which stipulate that reserve funds should go toward “the expansion of benefits of the members or the reduction of the contributions.”

“Kasi nga, the tenet of the law, the spirit of the law is universal coverage, meaning lahat tayo should be covered by PhilHealth. Paano ngayon ‘yan? Instead na maghahanap sila ng pondo para tustusan ang P178 billion na kailangan para ma-cover lahat ng mga Pilipino ay kinunan pa nila ng P60 billion,” complainant Elmer Jugalbot said.

Recto, who was finance secretary when the fund transfer occurred in 2024, said he would “fully cooperate with the Office of the Ombudsman.”

“I respect every citizen’s right to seek redress before the courts and will fully cooperate with the Office of the Ombudsman during the conduct of preliminary investigation,” Recto told ABS-CBN News. “I welcome the opportunity to clarify the issues raised by the Save the Philippines Coalition, with representation by the Office of the Solicitor General.”

While investigations are ongoing, Recto assured the public that he would continue focusing on his work in Malacañang. “I will not get distracted by political noise. The work of improving government performance and services is my priority. I will let my lawyers address those issues,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered the executive branch to restore the P60 billion fund to PhilHealth.

“‘Yung desisyon kasi ng Korte Suprema, it became the premise of our case. Kasi ‘yung desisyon ng Korte Suprema is just the constitutionality of the transfer. Walang nakaakibat na criminal case or liability… Part lang ‘yun ng mga concurring at mga dissenting opinions when in fact, it was a unanimous vote na it was unconstitutional,” Jugalbot said.

In a statement earlier this month, Recto said the administration considered the fund transfer “a common-sense approach to optimize government coffers without resorting to additional borrowing or new taxes.”

“Before any remittance occurred, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), and the Commission on Audit (COA) gave DOF the green light to do so. The PhilHealth board also approved the transfer,” he said.

Recto added that PhilHealth’s ability to deliver services was never impaired and no member contributions were taken. “In fact, the correction led to the agency’s largest expansion of benefit packages in Universal Health Care history, alongside the rollout of Zero Balance Billing to protect Filipino families from rising medical costs,” he said.

Malacañang assured the public that it would respect and comply with the Supreme Court’s decision.