MANILA – Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), has sharply criticized the bicameral conference committee’s decision to increase the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) budget to P51 billion in the 2026 national expenditure program, calling it a “health pork barrel” that violates human dignity and defies Supreme Court rulings on patronage politics.
In a strongly worded Facebook post on December 14, 2025, Cardinal David lamented the normalization of a system where poor patients must beg politicians for guarantee letters to access healthcare: “One of the quiet but grave moral failures of our public life is how easily we have normalized a system that forces the poor to beg for what they are already entitled to.” He argued that MAIFIP, reliant on political endorsements, places lawmakers “in control of who gets the assistance, how much, and when,” turning compassion into patronage.
“On paper, MAIFIP sounds compassionate, [but] in practice, it is nothing but a health pork barrel in the national budget,” David stated, invoking the Supreme Court’s past strikes against pork barrel systems. He urged Congress to “renounce pork once and for all” and route aid through PhilHealth and DOH hospitals without political mediation for true universal health care.
The bicam panel’s approval of the P51 billion—up from P42 billion in 2025 and higher than the House’s P49.2 billion or Senate’s lower proposals—drew backlash amid claims it perpetuates “pork” in social aid programs like the defunded AKAP, AICS, and TUPAD. Defenders, including House appropriations chair Mikaela Suansing, argued cutting it would harm 1.1 million patients, given delays in Universal Health Care implementation.
Cardinal David’s rebuke adds a moral dimension to civil society critiques, framing the hike as not just fiscal but ethical erosion. As budget ratification looms, his call resonates: In a nation striving for inclusive growth, health aid should heal—not humiliate.
MAIFIP Budget Evolution Snapshot:
| Version/Source | Amount (P Billion) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Allocation | 42 | Current level |
| House Proposal | 49.2 | Bicam starting point |
| Bicam Final | 51 | Approved amid controversy |
| Critics’ Ideal | Redirect to PhilHealth/DOH | No political guarantee letters |