The Department of Health (DOH) is waiting for the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release the budget allocation for the Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) for health workers who served during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOH Undersecretary Dr. Mary Ann Maestral said the DBM owes about P202.8 million in HEA to health workers in Negros Occidental.
“The budget has already been approved, and the paperwork is done. We are just waiting for the DBM downloading of the funds,” Maestral said.
However, she doesn’t cite how many health workers have not yet received their HEA.
The P202,837,312 claim had been submitted to the DOH.
Maestral said the Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office and the DOH-Western Visayas have already received the necessary HEA documents from the DBM.
She also sought the help of the congressional representatives in the province for the release of funds.
Maestral admitted that those in private hospitals and local government unit-run health facilities have received their HEAs.
“They are smaller compared to the provincial government-operated hospitals,” she said.
The DOH undersecretary added that the case is not only in Negros Occidental but in other provinces.
Meanwhile, Randy Peacita, president of the Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees, said health personnel from nine provincial government-run hospitals had not received their HEA from August to December 2021, and January to July 2023.
The nine medical facilities are Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, with about 600 personnel; and district hospitals in the cities of Cadiz, La Carlota, Himamaylan, Kabankalan, and Sipalay, as well as the municipalities of Hinoba-an, Isabela and Valladolid.
Maestral said personnel assigned to the Cadiz District Hospital, a designated facility during the pandemic, would receive higher amounts.
Republic Act No. 11712, or an act granting mandatory continuing benefits and allowances to public and private health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and other future public health emergencies, was passed into law on April 27, 2022.
The HEA amount was based on risk levels: P3,000 for employees in low-risk areas, P6,000 for medium-risk areas and P9,000 for high-risk areas./WDJ