Delay on benefits, bonuses for health workers being addressed, Palace says
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. visits Valenzuela Medical Center on his birthday on Sept. 13, 2025 to ensure that the zero-balance billing policy is strictly implemented at the hospital. (Photo courtesy of PCO)
Malacañang assured health workers under the Department of Health (DOH) that the issues concerning the delayed benefits and performance-based bonuses are being addressed by the Marcos administration.
Although Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro noted that the delays did not happen during the term of President Marcos, but the matter is now being addressed.
"Okay, noong 2021, of course, hindi pa po ito sakop ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. Pero sa ngayon po, ito po ay inaayos po (Okay, in 2021, of course, this was not yet under President Marcos Jr.'s administration. But at present, this is being addressed)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Monday, Aug. 3.
According to Castro, there are only a few issues raised by the Commission on Audit (COA) while the DOH has already sent a letter to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) seeking clarification on these matters.
The issues being clarified, she added, involve the medical allowance, particularly the verification of disbursement methods—such as whether payments are made directly through HMO providers or through cash reimbursement—as well as eligibility coverage and the required supporting documents.
"So, ito iyong mga issues na kinakailangang maresolba (These are the issues that still need to be resolved)," Castro said.
"Pero sa mga kababayan po natin na kayo naman po talaga ay benepisyaryo, makakaasa po kayo at inaayos lamang po ang mga issues para liwanagin po ito sa DBM (To our fellow citizens who are the rightful beneficiaries, you can rest assured that you will receive your benefits. The government is simply resolving these issues and clarifying them with the DBM)," the Palace official added.
In a statement, the Alliance of Health Workers said the President "failed to acknowledge the long-overdue unpaid benefits still owed to thousands of health workers," stressing that "he made no commitment to release the unpaid P7,000 Medical Allowance, the long-delayed Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) for eligible health workers for 2021, 2022, and 2024, and other pending benefits that health workers have repeatedly demanded."