MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Health emergency allowances (HEA) of PHP 76.1 billion have already been distributed to eligible public and private health workers.
On Tuesday night, the Department of Health (DOH) said the amount covers 8,549,207 claims from July 1, 2021, to July 20, 2023.
“For Fiscal Year 2024, the General Appropriations Act gave only PHP 19.9 billion for HEA under programmed appropriations,” the DOH said.
The DOH has released PHP 19.7 billion, or 99 percent of PHP 19.9 billion, to all eligible health facilities. It still requires an estimated PHP27 billion to pay for arrears filed by the health facilities.
“We continue to work hand-in-hand with the Department of Budget and Management to grant all eligible health workers HEA. We are ready to release the funds as soon as the concerned private and LGU (local government unit) hospitals comply with the law that requires liquidation,” the DOH stated.
The law requires DOH to have memoranda of agreement and to wait for complete liquidation by the LGU and private hospitals of HEA funds already paid before subsequent releases of additional funds.
Under R.A. No. 11712, health workers who responded during a “state of public health emergency” shall be granted HEAs for every month of service, ranging from P3,000 for workers deployed in low-risk areas to P9,000 for those deployed in high-risk areas. The law also says that the HEA must be released monthly.
However, health workers from public hospitals who responded during the COVID-19 pandemic are only now receiving their allowances, some two years after filing their claims.
The DOH has a list of these hospitals and health facilities with outstanding liquidation requirements.
It has been working with private and LGU-owned hospitals and health facilities through its Centers for Health Development in the regions. Meanwhile, those in private and LGU-owned hospitals are still waiting for their HEAs.
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