Quezon City – Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) Local Fiscal Policy Service (LFPS) Director Ricardo L. Bobis, Jr., Administrative, Financial, and Management Service (AFMS) Director Pascualito V. Lapiña, Administrative Division Acting Chief, Ms. Grace Louie M. Boongaling, Local Treasury Operations Division (LTOD) Acting Chief, Ms. Cynthia G. Faurillo, and Local Financial Data Analysis Division (LFDAD) Acting Chief, Ms. Mary Ann U. Rada, discussed with the Commission on Audit (COA) and PhilHealth Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) representatives, the inclusion of the Special Health Fund (SHF) in the BLGF’s LGU Integrated Financial Tool (LIFT) System, on February 27, 2024, at the COA Central Office, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

The Department of Health (DOH), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and PhilHealth issued a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2021-0001 dated January 13, 2021, providing the guidelines on the strategic allocation, efficient utilization, and monitoring, and clear accountability on the use of the SHF under Republic Act (RA) No. 11223, otherwise known as the Universal Health Care Act (UHC).

Per the said JMC, the DOF, through the BLGF, shall issue separate guidelines on the proper reporting of the SHF receipts and disbursements in the LIFT System to generate the periodic Statement of Receipts and Expenditures (SRE).