(Ted Aljibe/AFP)

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte is urging the Department of Health (DOH) to release the unpaid Covid allowances worth at least P27 billion that have been due to healthcare workers (HCWs) since 2021.

“It’s nearly a year after the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the worldwide health emergency spawned by Covid-19 as officially over, and yet many of our HCWs who were at the frontlines of that three-year global war have yet to receive the economic benefits due them for their untold sacrifices to save lives during the pandemic,” Villafuerte said in a statement on Wednesday, April 17.

Thus, the lawmaker said he is backing a proposal from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to address the delays in release through a nationwide mapping of all the due allowances.

According to DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, the mapping will be broken down per region and per health facility to ensure that all HCWs receive their unpaid Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (PHEBA) in full.

This proposal likewise pushes the DOH to enter a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and private organizations to speed up the release of unpaid allowances in private hospitals and local government units (LGUs).

“Such a fast-tracked mapping and the use of a blanket MOA with the DILG and private organizations to address bottlenecks in the release of HEA claims mostly in hospitals and LGUs—as both suggested by the DBM— would let the DOH come up with a definitive amount as to how much Covid-19 extra benefits exactly are still due our medical frontliners,” said Villafuerte.

Based on an April 16 report of the DBM, a total of P91.238 billion for the PHEBA of all HCWs have been released.

Of this amount, the DOH—as the implementing agency—has so far disbursed P64 billion. This leaves a balance of about P27 billion that is yet to be handed to medical workers.

Villafuerte noted that the DOH will be able to speed up their paperwork for the intended beneficiaries by carrying out a quick mapping system for all claims and payments.

“With the end of the Covid-19 health crisis almost a year ago already, the prompt and full release of the benefits long due them is the least we can do for our HCWs and non-HCWs who were at the forefront of the war to save lives during the pandemic,” he emphasized.
 
Based on the most recent data from the DOH, a total of 4.14 million Covid-19 cases had been recorded, of which 66,864 infections resulted in deaths.