MANILA, Philippines—A health group on Wednesday called for the reduction of proposed funds for the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), noting that it should instead be reallocated to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). “You’re using MAIFIP to defund PhilHealth,” said Dr. Tony Dans of the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against Covid-19 (HPAAC), addressing the Bicameral Conference Committe's decision to increase the MAIFIP fund to P51 billion from P24 billion. Meanwhile, PhilHealth’s proposed budget for 2026 was P113 billion. Dans, however, argued that it is just P53 billion, as the P60 billion that was ordered by the Supreme Court to be returned was a debt. “P60 B is not a budget; that’s the debt of the government,” he added The group said increasing the MAIFIP budget undermines the mandate of PhilHealth as the principal payer for health services.