Manila, July 30 -- Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito on Wednesday called on Congress to pass Senate Bill No. 1, which proposes a PHP74.4 billion supplemental budget for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), saying the success of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law depends on adequate and timely funding.

Ejercito, principal author and sponsor of the UHC Law, said the funding boost is crucial to achieving zero balance billing in government hospitals-a key reform that would eliminate out-of-pocket payments for indigent patients, senior citizens, and other vulnerable groups.

"Panawagan ko sa aking mga kasamahan sa Kongreso at kay Pangulong Marcos, agad natin ipasa ang supplemental budget para sa PhilHealth (I call on m...