HONG KONG — Filipino migrant workers, organized by United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-Migrante), staged a protest outside the Philippine Consulate on Tuesday, demanding for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to scrap its mandatory contribution collections and premium hikes. The demonstration coincided with PhilHealth’s week-long “Service Mission” in Hong Kong, running from June 2 to June 9, which the group criticized as a pretext for profit-driven collection rather than genuine service.
Dolores Balladares, chairperson of UNIFIL-Migrante, condemned PhilHealth’s so-called free services, including registration and record updates, as deceptive. “This isn’t a free service; it’s a business. It’s not protection—it’s collection,” Balladares said. She highlighted that under the Universal Health Care Law (RA 11223), overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) face a 5% monthly salary deduction for contributions, with compounded interest up to 1.5% for late payments. “They lure OFWs with free registration, only to burden us with fees later,” she added.
Lai Besana, spokesperson for Migrante Hong Kong, echoed the sentiment, noting that services like member record updates and ID issuance are core PhilHealth responsibilities, not special offerings. “PhilHealth is turning basic duties into ‘free services’ to justify their mission,” Besana said. She called for the scrapping of mandatory fees, including those for the Social Security System (SSS) and Pag-IBIG, arguing they strain OFWs’ already stretched wages amid rising costs in the Philippines. “We need the complete removal of mandatory PhilHealth membership, not just a suspension,” Besana demanded.
The protest featured emotional testimonies from OFWs who shared their struggles with PhilHealth’s system. Joseline Tanguid recounted her son’s hospitalization in 2018 after an accident left him comatose for 19 days. Despite paying over 4,000 pesos to access PhilHealth services, only 6,000 pesos were deducted from the hospital bill, leaving her family to cover costly medications out-of-pocket. In 2019, another surgery yielded just 3,000 pesos in assistance for her estimated contribution of 26,000 pesos. “Is this the service PhilHealth boasts about?” Tanguid asked.
Mimi Ysulat shared a similar ordeal from 2020, when her husband fell ill during the pandemic. Despite paying contributions, she received a notice last year demanding back payments with interest from 2020, contradicting claims of a suspension under former President Rodrigo Duterte. “The suspension was fake; they never stopped collecting,” Ysulat said.
Baneng Mendez, secretary general of BAYAN Hong Kong and Macau, slammed PhilHealth’s “conditional” healthcare model, burdened by excessive requirements and fees. “OFWs need direct, high-quality, accessible healthcare—not commercialized or privatized systems that exploit us,” Mendez said. She pointed to PhilHealth’s reported 90 billion peso surplus, of which 60 billion was transferred to the National Treasury, questioning why these funds weren’t used to enhance member benefits.
The group also called for accountability, demanding an investigation into former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Arnel Ignacio over an alleged anomalous 1.4 billion peso land purchase for an OFW halfway house. They further criticized PhilHealth for misusing 15 billion pesos during the pandemic and issues with ghost claimants.
As the protest concluded, UNIFIL-Migrante urged the Marcos administration to implement a 1,200-peso daily minimum wage to address deepening poverty. “With 8,000 Filipinos leaving the country daily due to hardship, a living wage could keep families together, fund education, secure decent homes, and cover medical needs,” Mendez said. “That’s the kind of change we need—not more fees and empty promises.”
