Health workers from Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) and National Children’s Hospital (NCH) staged a "snake rally and noise barrage protest" on Dec. 5 to demand a salary hike and the release of the “long overdue” health emergency allowance (HEA) and performance-based bonus (PBB).
Along with calling for a pay increase, they criticized the Marcos administration for withholding their HEA for 2021, 2022, and 2023 and the PBB for 2021–2022.
National Orthopedic Hospital Workers Union-Alliance of Health Workers (AHW)president Ricardo Antonio conveyed the health workers’ frustration with the Marcos government's apparent neglect for their rights and welfare.
"It is infuriating that this Marcos government seems deaf, blind, and insensitive to our rights and welfare. The pandemic may have ended, but we still haven’t received in full our health emergency allowance. Some of our fellow health workers in private and LGU (local government unit) hospitals and facilities did not receive any cents of this allowance,” Antonio said.
The PBB for 2021–2022 is still pending, he added, raising concerns about how long they will have to wait.
Demand for P33,000 basic pay
The health workers and other government employees who served during the pandemic also expressed their dissatisfaction with the Congress for failing to set aside funds for their salary increases.
Antonio pointed out the hardships faced by health workers due to rising inflation and longstanding unjust government policies on salaries, benefits, and democratic rights.
He reiterated their demand for P33,000 basic salary for Salary Grade 1 health workers and other government employees.
3-year wait
AHW national president Robert Mendoza also criticized DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa after he stated that health workers who served during the Covid-19 pandemic may have to wait up to "three years" for their HEAs.
"Ito na 'yung pagkakataon nya na magsabi about sa benepisyo ng mga health workers at kanilang mga problema na matagal nang understaffing, mababa ang sahod at tuloy-tuloy na contractualization, kasi nga na-appoint na sya bilang Secretary of Health (This is his chance to address the benefits and longstanding issues of health workers, such as chronic understaffing, low wages, and continuous contractualization, given his appointment as Secretary of Health)," Mendoza said in an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Mendoza highlighted that Herbosa’s eight-point agenda, encompassing the welfare and protection of health workers, raises expectations that the budget has been attended to and disbursed to benefit the healthcare workforce since his appointment.
"Hindi nakakatuwa na abutin pa ito ng 2026 (It's disheartening to think this might extend until 2026)," he added.
Mendoza emphasized that resolving the matter requires addressing the nearly P62.9 billion past-due obligations.
He pointed out that while there's an anticipated P52 billion program, only P4 billion has been released by Herbosa, leaving a crucial P7 billion pending.
"P10 billion na lang ang kulang, tapos may budget pa tayo for next year na P20 billion, so sapat na para mabayaran ang mga health workers, sana hindi na paabutin ng 2026 (We lack just P10 billion, and with an additional P20 billion budget for next year, it should be sufficient to settle health worker payments, hopefully avoiding delays until 2026)," Mendoza said.
He also questioned the difficulty in securing funds for health worker benefits.
Mendoza emphasized the issue of health emergency allowances for frontline workers during Covid-19, noting the absence of allocated funding despite legal provisions.
"Ang problema kasi, palaging nilalagay sa budget ng unprogrammed na dapat hindi, kasi alam naman natin na trabahuhan ito, dapat isinasama sya sa general appropriations act kasi mahihirapan tayong maghanap kung saan kukunin ['yung budget] (The problem is consistently placing it under the unprogrammed budget, which shouldn't be the case. It should be included in the general appropriations act to avoid difficulties in fund allocation)," he emphasized.
Revealing unutilized funds within the DOH, Mendoza suggested the President consider “reallocating” these resources.