[Rappler’s Best] Closing the loop

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We must celebrate what needs celebrating: the victory of Filipinos who pushed back against the Marcos administration’s wanton and callous transfer of public health funds to the national treasury in 2024

Did you have the misfortune of getting caught in Saturday night’s traffic nightmare along Marcos Highway? It’s one palpable sign of the holiday season — when battle-scarred Metro Manilans still get jarred by how bad traffic could get. In 2023, in fact, we were judged the world’s slowest metro area to drive in. Read about it here.

Lest I sound like a party pooper, we must celebrate what needs celebrating: the victory of Filipinos who pushed back against the Marcos administration’s wanton and callous transfer of public health funds to the national treasury in 2024. In a unanimous decision released on Friday, December 5, the Supreme Court ordered the government to return some P60 billion to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth). 

• It’s a win for every Filipino, said the petitioners in a statement.
• Majority of the justices also declared “unconstitutional” a special provision in the 2024 General Appropriations Act which then-finance secretary Ralph Recto invoked as basis for his order to move the money to the treasury.
• Recto’s order actually covered a total of P89.9 billion in Philhealth funds, but the government was only able to remit P60 billion following a temporary restraining order issued by the Court in October 2024.
• As the justices were deliberating on the petitions against Recto’s order, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the administration will be returning the P60 billion to Philhealth. The budget department said this would be restored in the 2026 national budget.
• In a previous interview, retired SC senior associate justice Antonio Carpio told Rappler that funds from Philhealth and another government-owned and controlled corporation, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, were diverted to the construction of flood control projects, which are now at the center of the corruption crisis facing Marcos.
• Thus, Carpio said, simply restoring the funds in the national budget is a mockery. “If the reimbursement will come from the General Appropriations Act, the money will come from people’s taxes. It’s like saying, ‘taxpayers should reimburse the amount, not those who stole from public coffers.’” A restitution law is needed to cover this case and others affected by state robbery, he added.

The bigger issue, however, is accountability. If a government order is deemed unconstitutional, shouldn’t the official who issued it be held liable — in this case Recto, who is now executive secretary? However, four justices went out of their way, in separate opinions, to exonerate him. The triumphant petitioners, of course, can always knock on the Ombudsman’s doors.

Because if there’s any hard lesson from decades of battling corruption, it’s the rigor that must be put in the process of closing the loop from discovery to documentation to collective action.

This will be part of the discussions at the Rappler newsroom on Wednesday, December 10, in a Rappler+ exclusive briefing — “Opening the Floodgates” — where Rappler reporters and editors will tackle how the flood control investigations were built, how they hurdled roadblocks, and what next steps need to be made.

Thanks to tips and leads from the community, Rappler was able to investigate five personalities linked to the corruption scandal across eight full-blown investigations. Read all about it here.

We hope to see you on Wednesday! It’s not too late to reserve a seat; just sign up for Rappler+ if you’re not yet a member.

Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss:

Lian Buan’s exposé on Jose “Jojo” Cadiz Jr., a longtime aide of President Marcos, prompted his immediate resignation as justice undersecretary and set off an Ombudsman probe. 

Rjay Zuriaga Castor documents a clear conflict-of-interest situation for Uswag Ilonggo Party-list Representative James “Jojo” Ang Jr. through his family-run construction firm. Ang is also among those covered by an immigration lookout order issued by the justice department against those involved in the flood control scandal. 

Mary Ann Benitez shows us what it’s like in the aftermath of the deadly fire in Hong Kong that claimed at least 156 lives, including one Filipina, even as she reminds us of the dire situation of domestics there. 

Val A. Villanueva rips apart the government’s P500 noche buena budget. 

Den Somera tells us what awaits the laggard Philippine stock market in 2026.

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– Rappler.com

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The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Rappler.