Health workers from various hospitals are set to hold another mass protest on Monday, Sept. 6, after the Department of Health (DOH) allegedly failed to pay the benefits of medical frontliners under the Bayanihan to Recover As One 2 Act or Bayanihan 2.

On Aug. 21, President Duterte ordered the DOH and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) 10 days to pay the health workers' benefits.
However, the DOH allegedly failed once more to release the benefits, despite the 10-day ultimatum.
"Anong petsa na? Wala pa ring gumagalaw sa mga opisyal ng gobyerno. Hindi na ata nakikinig sa presidente ang DOH at DBM at pinipilit pa rin nila ang sariling interpretasyon sa Bayanihan 2, nakakadismaya't nakakagalit ang pagmamatigas nila (What date is it? Government officials are still not taking action. Do DOH and DBM no longer listen to the president that's why they are still pushing their own interpretation of Bayanihan 2? Their stubbornness is disappointing and infuriating)," St. Luke's Medical Center Quezon City union President Jao Clumia said.
Clumia lamented that even if DBM allotted funds following the president's order to remunerate the health workers, its scope remains limited to a select few, leaving out hundreds of thousands of medical and allied workers nationwide.
By not meeting the deadline, Clumia said the government "infuriated health workers more" with their negligence and incompetence.
"The blatant and systemic neglect of hospital employees coupled with the recent allegations of corruption speaks volumes of the government's mishandling of the pandemic. Our demands are no longer limited to our mandated benefits, but we also seek protection and greater state subsidies for all workers in order to combat the health and economic crisis," Clumia ended.