HEALTH Undersecretary Alexander Padilla said Sunday he will assume the position of chief operations officer of Philippine Health Corp. next month to sign up more members.
“In keeping with the policy of the Aquino administration for universal health, we will prioritize the enrollment of PhilHealth members, as well as the provision of more out-patient benefits,” Padilla said in a phone interview.
The state-run firm plans to increase the premium contributions of its new members starting next month, and to P600 from P300 quarterly or P2,400 a year.
The people covered are those earning at least P25,000 a year based on their income tax returns. There were 20.1 million PhilHealth members with an average of five dependents as of February this year, or an 85-percent coverage rate.
“Universal health care is created particularly for our poor countrymen,” President Benigno Aquino III said earlier.
“We aim to protect them not only from undesirable health effects but also from the adverse financial implications of diseases, illnesses and emergencies. We aim to do this by improving the coverage and benefits of PhilHealth, our national health insurance agency.”
Padilla is also the government’s chief negotiator in the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front.
He has served as Customs commissioner, assistant Interior secretary, special prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman, and senior state prosecutor of the Justice Department in the past 24 years. –Joyce Pangco Pañares, Manila Standard Today
June 2025
Philippine Environment Month!
“Action for Nature, for the Future!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
1 Jun – World Day of Parents
5 Jun – World Environment Day
7 Jun – World Food Safety Day
8 Jun – World Oceans Day
12 Jun – World Day Against
Child Labour
15 Jun – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
16 Jun – International Day of Family Remittances
17 Jun – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
20 Jun – World Refugee Day
25 Jun – Day of the Seafarer
27 Jun – Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
