P27-B COVID-19 allowance for healthcare workers released Friday

Healthcare workers assist Mandauehanons avail of the free COVID-19 vaccination at the Mandaue City Hall grounds in this March 6, 2023 photo. | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANILA, Philippines — The remaining P27 billion COVID-19 health emergency allowances (HEAs) for eligible healthcare workers will be released on Friday, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The DBM made the announcement shortly after Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa shared his exchange with Budget Secretary Mina Pangandaman, where the latter committed to releasing the remaining COVID-19 allowance for healthcare workers within the year.

“We will release the additional P27 billion requested by DOH for the settlement of unpaid HEA claims of our healthcare workers by Friday, July 5, 2024,” said Pangandaman in a statement on Thursday.

“This is a promise fulfilled. Kahit sa 2025 pa ito hinihiling ng DOH, sinikap po ng DBM na mas maaga itong tuparin, dahil deserve po ito ng ating mga manggagawa sa health sector,” she added.

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(This is a promise fulfilled. Even though the DOH was asking for it in 2025, the DBM tried to fulfill it earlier because our workers in the health sector deserve it.)

Under Republic Act 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 same measure also states the monthly release of HEAs, but the government has only started completing it four years after the COVID-19 virus first hit the country in March 2020.

According to the DBM, the said COVID-19 allowance for healthcare workers will be released after the DOH requested the issuance of a Special Allotment Release Order and Notice of Cash Allocation amounting to P27.453 billion to cover the payment of 5,039,926 remaining validated unpaid HEAs and 4,283 COVID-10 Sickness and Death Compensation claims of eligible healthcare and non-healthcare workers.

The DBM said it has already released a total of P91.283 billion to the DOH for the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (PHEBA), covering all benefits for healthcare workers from 2021 to 2023.

Of this amount, P73.261 billion has been allocated specifically for HEAs.