DBM urges DOH to address issues on healthcare workers' allowance

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to address the issues concerning the release of health emergency allowance claims for healthcare workers.

According to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, DBM has released more than P91 billion to DOH to pay health workers' benefits and allowances.

"To date, since the pandemic began and the law was enacted to provide compensation for our health workers, the DBM has released P91.283 billion," Pangandaman said over a radio interview.

DBM, citing a DOH report, noted that only P64 billion out of the total P91.283 billion had been disbursed so far.

The released fund for Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (PHEBA) included P73.26 billion to pay the claims of 653,295 qualified public and private healthcare and non-healthcare workers for their health emergency allowance or One Covid-19 allowance from 1 July 2021, to 20 July 2023.

Additionally, DBM released P12.90 billion for Special Risk Allowance (SRA), P3.65 billion for COVID-19 Sickness and Death Compensation, and P1.4 billion for other benefits like lodging, food, and transportation reimbursement.

According to Pangandaman, the 2024 General Appropriations Act also alloted P19.962 billion for DOH's outstanding claims and arrears.

"(For the) budget for this year, what we're doing is comprehensively releasing it. We've already provided all of that to the DOH. So, they're the ones in charge of disbursing it," Pangandaman said.

In order to encourage transparency and address concerns regarding the purported delay in the publication of HEA claims, Pangandaman also reiterated her demand for the DOH to complete its HEA mapping.

Pangandaman hoped that the HEA mapping would be finished "within the month" to make it easier for the DOH to locate the health workers who have not yet received their compensation.

While DOH is still finalizing the HEA planning, Pangandaman promised the healthcare workers that the government would pay them their unpaid benefits.

The DBM suggested that HEA mapping be made in a meeting with the DOH earlier this year.

This mapping would show all HEA claims and payments by area or health facility.