Then Finance Secretary Ralph Recto speaks during the Senate Committee on Finance briefing on the proposed 2026 National Expenditure Program at the Senate in Pasay City on Sept. 2, 2025.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Executive Secretary Ralph Recto’s proposal of a greater benefits package for people who contribute to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) fund got an ally in former Eastern Samar governor Ben Evardone, saying that it has a basis in law.
Evardone in a statement on Friday said that this proposal from Recto should be implemented because it will help people who pay premiums to PhilHealth get better health services, adding that Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act has a provision that allows it.
The former governor, who also served as a congressman, was referring to Section 9 of R.A. No. 11223 which states that PhilHealth “shall provide additional program benefits for direct contributors, where applicable.”
