MANILA, Philippines – Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) former chief executive officer and president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. are facing complaints over the state insurer’s transfer of “excess” funds.

A group of medical doctors and lawyers, led by counsel Rodel Taton, lodged complaints of technical malversation, graft, plunder, and grave misconduct with the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday, January 15.

The cases stemmed from PhilHealth’s transfer of P60 billion in “excess” funds to the national treasury, in accordance with the 2024 General Appropriations Act’s (GAA) provision that states “excess” funds from government-owned and -controlled corporations, such as the state insurer, should be sent to the treasury to fund unprogrammed appropriations.

The Department of Finance (DOF), then headed by Recto, issued a circular on the provision’s implementation and ordered PhilHealth to remit its “excess” funds in tranches.

The complaint states that Recto and Ledesma violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by exhibiting “gross inexcusable negligence” in the transfer “as they should have first examined existing laws or should have at least been made aware that PhilHealth’s reserve funds are not to be returned to the National Treasury.”

“Due to this transfer PhilHealth Excess reserve funds to the National Treasury, there is an immense injury to the Filipino people as the P60 billion could have instead been used for the betterment of health services or increase the scope of the Program’s benefits and to decrease the amount of members’ contributions as stipulated in RA 11223 (Universal Health Care Act),” it says.

Complainants said Recto and Ledesma are also guilty of technical malversation.

“There is no doubt that the respondents willfully, intentionally and illegally transfer PhilHealth’s reserve funds to the National Treasury to fund unprogrammed appropriations, thus, a clear diversion of the funds from the very purpose for which they have been originally appropriated,” the complainants said.

Recto and Ledesma are also liable for plunder, the complainants said, “because of a persistent pattern of transferring (excess) reserve funds from Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) such as PhilHealth when ghost and substandard projects are prevalent funded through unprogrammed appropriations.”

“The amount involved is far more than the threshold amount of P50 million as provided under the Anti-Plunder Act,” they added.

Both officials, the complainants said, are likewise liable for grave misconduct as “the facts of the surrounding case shows a clear intent to violate the law and constitute flagrant disregard of an established rule.”

PhilHealth had already transmitted P60 billion out of P89.9 billion of its “excess” funds before the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order following petitions from public health advocates and groups.

Petitioners had cited the Universal Health Care Act, saying PhilHealth’s reserve funds cannot be used as a general fund.

In December 2025, the SC ordered the return of the P60 billion and declared unconstitutional the 2024 GAA provision and DOF circular.

Prior to the SC decision, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered the return of the P60 billion to PhilHealth.

The amount was returned to the state insurer through the 2026 national budget.

The group Save the Philippines Coalition filed a technical malversation, plunder, and gross misconduct complaint against Recto and Ledesma in December 2025 over the same issue.

In a statement last December 22, Recto reiterated his “innocence,” citing the SC ruling which says there was “no criminal liability” on his part as former finance chief, and that he acted in “good faith in accordance with a direct mandate from Congress in ordering the remittance of PhilHealth’s unused funds.” – Rappler.com