Parañaque City 2nd Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan wants to pursue in the current 20th Congress a measure that seeks the grant of an annual P7,000 medical allowance to qualified Department of Education (DepEd) personnel.

The measure--which Yamsuan filed in the 19th Congress, but did not prosper--has been designated as House Bill (HB) No.2579. It is referred to as the HMO for Public School Teachers Act.

The medical allowance is seen to enable DepEd to provide health maintenance organization (HMO) benefits on behalf of the qualified workers.

“Teaching is a demanding job that could take a toll on one’s health, especially for those working in the public education sector. Our public school teachers should be able to readily access quality healthcare whenever they need it without having to worry about medical expenses,” Yamsuan said in a statement Tuesday, Aug. 5.

“A healthy, happy teacher leads to an inspired and productive educator. Our proposed HMO for Public School Teachers Act aims to ensure that the President’s initiative of providing comprehensive healthcare support to our teaching force would be institutionalized and given a regular allocation under the national budget even beyond his administration,” added the former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) assistant secretary.

Yamsuan said his refiled measure supports Presiden Marcos' renewed commitment in his recent State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) to address longstanding problems plaguing the country’s education system, by, among others, improving the welfare of public school teachers and strengthening basic education. 

President Marcos' directive last year under Executive Order (EO) No.64, which grants medical allowance to government workers starting 2025, has made it possible for the DepEd to begin procuring HMO-type benefits for its employees, including close to one million public school teachers. 

“Bukod sa maaring makuhang benepisyo mula sa PhilHealth, ang nais natin ay matiyak na ang pagkakaroon ng mas komprehensibong healthcare package para sa ating mga public school teachers at non-teaching personnel ng DepEd ay magiging regular at permanenteng bahagi na ng tulong na natatanggap nila mula sa gobyerno,” Yamsuan said. 

(On top of the benefits that they may get from PhilHealth, what we want is to ensure that the grant of a more comprehensive healthcare package for our public school teachers and DepEd’s non-teaching personnel will be a regular and permanent part of the aid they are receiving from the government.)

Under Yamsuan’s proposal, the amount ofmedical allowance given to qualified personnel shall be subject to mandatory review every three years by the DepEd to ensure that this is sufficient and reflective of current market prices.  

“At present, public school teachers do not have the usual paid sick leave benefits enjoyed by other professionals. Thus, when they fall ill, they are faced with a difficult choice: either report to work despite their condition, potentially worsening their health, or take an unpaid sick leave, which can strain their finances and limit their ability to afford necessary medical care.

"This is an unjust dilemma no teacher should have to endure,” Yamsuan noted. 

He say institutionalizing HMO-type benefits for public school teachers is expected to boost their morale, reduce absenteeism, and lead to better learning outcomes for students.