MANILA, Philippines – Frontline healthcare workers will finally receive their remaining Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) claims.

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The Department of Budget and Management on Thursday, July 4, said they will release P27.453 billion by Friday, July 5. This means that the 5,039,926 unpaid HEA and 4,283 COVID-19 sickness and death compensation claims of eligible healthcare and non-healthcare workers who served the country during the pandemic will finally get their money.

“This is a promise fulfilled,” Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said. “Kahit sa 2025 pa ito hinihiling ng DOH (Department of Health), sinikap po ng DBM na mas maaga itong tuparin dahil deserve po ito ng ating mga manggagawa sa health sector (Even if the DOH was requesting this for 2025, the DBM worked to fulfill it earlier because our healthcare workers deserve it).”

In April 2022, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law that grants benefits and allowances for health workers during public health emergencies.

Under Republic Act 11712, healthcare workers will receive an allowance from P3,000 to P9,000 every month, depending on the risk classification of where they are deployed. The law also provides that they will get compensation should they get infected with COVID-19.

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The department has so far given P91.283 billion to the DOH for Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (PHEBA), P73.261 billion of which was budgeted for healthworkers’ HEA. PHEBA also provides funding for workers’ Special Risk Allowance (SRA), compensation for COVID-19 sickness and death, and other allowances for meals, accommodation, and transportation.

In a television interview, DOH spokesman Albert Domingo said they initially included the HEA disbursement in the budget they prepared for 2025.

“Nagtaka kami bakit, dun sa National Expenditure Program na sinubmit namin, inalis nila ‘yung HEA. Sabi namin, ano naman nangyari? ‘Yun pala may magandang pagtupad ng pangako ang Pangulong Marcos na hindi aantayin ang 2025, this year na,” Domingo told DWPM Radyo 360 on Thursday.

(We were wondering why they removed the HEA in the National Expenditure Program that we submitted. We didn’t know what was happening. It turns out that President Marcos was fulfilling his promise that we wouldn’t have to wait for 2025, we would receive it this year already.)

Domingo reminded hospitals to make sure they have sorted out requirements so as not to further delay the distribution of the allowances. “Siguro matagal na ‘yung one month, tatagal lang ito kung ang papeles ay hindi kumpleto (Maybe one month would be too long, disbursement would take a while if their papers are not complete.)

Meanwhile, Iloilo 1st District Representative Janette Garin, who served as the country’s health secretary from 2015 to 2016, said the release of the allowances was “long overdue.” Healthcare workers have long complained about the delay in the distribution of their pandemic allowances and benefits.

“The problem is may pera naman, ang laki naman ng budget… pero hindi siya nabigyan ng priority ng previous administration (The problem is the government had the money, had more than enough funds… but they were not prioritized by the previous administration),” Garin said. – Rappler.com

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