Almost 50% of private health workers yet to receive benefits —group

A health workers group on Tuesday said about 50% of them still have not yet received their COVID-19 response benefits and allowances.

Private Health Workers Alliance of the Philippines spokesperson Jao Clumia said they already talked with several officials from the Department of Health (DOH) who told them that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has not yet released the budget for such.

“Almost nasa 50% pa po ang hindi pa nakakatanggap. Karamihan dito na nakatanggap, one month pa lang doon sa anim na buwan. ‘Yun ang nakasaad sa batas. ‘Yan po ang nagiging problema kasi pinapangakuan lang kami,” he said in an Unang Balita interview.

(Almost 50% of healthcare workers still haven't received it. Most of those who received their benefits only got one month worth of benefits out of the six months stated in the law. That's the problem because they just kept on promising.)

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said last week that they were still negotiating with the DBM for additional funds for healthcare workers' One COVID Allowance (OCA) so that they can pay for other healthcare workers who have not received theirs.

For its part, the DBM said in a statement on Thursday that it sent DOH a response letter on June 8, asking them to address the deficiencies on the documentary requirements they submitted pertaining to a P63-billion budget request.

“DOH replied to us on July 15, but they were only able to address and substantiate documents that are related to unpaid COVID-19 sickness and death claims for FY 2020 and 2021 worth P570 million, which enabled us to release the same amount in August,” the DBM said.

“As long as DOH can address the deficiencies in the documentary requirements, DBM will immediately process the request to release funds, based on available budget,” it added.

DBM also said it was able to release to DOH a total of P7.9 billion in February 2022 to cover One COVID allowance of both healthcare and non-healthcare workers.

Pending the release of their supposed benefits, Clumia said many healthcare workers have opted to resign and look for another job, while some left the country for overseas employment.

“Mula noong unang rally namin nung Bayanihan way back 2021, hanggang ngayon, tuloy-tuloy ang pagre-resign ng healthcare workers dahil una, mababa ang pasahod dito sa Pilipinas. Mas malaki ang sahod ng sa ibang bansa kesa sa atin. ‘Yung iba lumipat sa mga call centers,” he said.

(Since our first rally in Bayanihan way back in 2021, until now, healthcare workers have been continuously resigning because of their low salaries here in the Philippines. Other countries give higher wages. Other healthcare workers also transferred to call centers.)

GMA News Online sought comment from the DOH but it has yet to reply as of this posting.

Speaking before nurses last week, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. admitted that benefits accorded to nurses are not enough, considering their services and sacrifices to ensure the health of the public.

He said that as of August 19, 2022, the government has disbursed P25.82 billion worth of benefits for nurses including hazard duty pay, COVID-19 sickness and death compensation, meals, accommodation and transportation allowances, life insurance, Special Risk Allowance (SRA) and COVID-19 allowance.

Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) president Melvin Miranda, however, said nurses have also not received the benefits that Marcos said have already been disbursed.  —KBK, GMA News