Two senators on Thursday, August 19 expressed belief that the funds for the special risk allowance (SRA) of health care workers can be distributed by another government agency.

But Senator Risa Hontiveros said a system must be put in place to efficiently release the SRA and other allowances due to healthcare workers, both in the public and private hospitals.

“I’m okay to support the transfer of the budget as long as it will not result in further delays and the receiving agency can do the pay out more efficiently,” Hontiveros said.

“As to another government agency, we’re looking into augmenting the DOH’s quick response fund (QRF) so they could use their savings to pay for these benefits since we are still under a state of calamity,” the senator said.

Senator Imelda “Imee” Marcos, on the other hand, said proposals to transfer the SRA to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) may also be possible.

But Marcos said Congress should check the capacity of the DOLE to implement its distribution since it is also in-charge of distributing budget for other programs that are also meant to help other sectors affected by the pandemic.

“Yung paglilipat ng budget para sa special risk allowance (SRA), pwede naman gawin ng Kongreso, pero tingnan muna din natin kung kaya pa ba ng DOLE magpatupad noon (transferring the budget for the SRA can be done by Congress, but we need to check if DOLE can still implement it),” Marcos said.

“Kasi marami rin silang programa gaya ng CAMP, TUPAD, SPES, atbp (They have programs like the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program, Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers, Special Program for Employment of Students, etc.),” she pointed out.

“Sa kanila pa yung masalimuot na problema ng mga OFW na nawalan ng trabaho (They are also in-charge of the problems of the overseas Filipino workers that lost their jobs),” the lawmaker pointed out.

In all these, Marcos said she hopes the DOH should fix the limited coverage of the SRA, including issues on their meal allowances and transportation costs, on top of other controversies hounding the agency’s handling of its P67.3-billion COVID-19 response funds.

She also said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should stop blaming hospitals regarding the missing SRA funds that are supposed to have already been distributed.

“Tumigil siya! Ilabas niya ang totoong kwenta ng bilyon-bilyong binigay sa DOH, kausapin lahat ng health workers at ospital nang malaman ang utang ng DOH sa kanila (He should stop! He should reveal the real amount of the billions of funds given to the DOH, and talk to health workers and hospitals to figure out how much the DOH owes them),” Marcos pointed out.