Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has maintained that guarantee letters remain a requirement in practice and called for their abolition. Instead, he urged that medical assistance funds be directly released to hospitals with strict oversight. Magalong accused Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa of making false statements about the use of hospital guarantee letters. Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro pushed back, stating that Magalong was wrong to label Herbosa a liar. Castro clarified that patients admitted to basic accommodations in Department of Health–run hospitals do not need guarantee letters under the zero-balance billing policy. She added that while local governments like Baguio City have long issued guarantee letters using local funds, these are not meant to come from politicians or be charged to DOH resources. Officials of Baguio General Hospital confirmed that the guarantee letters presented there were issued by the city government.
