Senator Bong Go, chair of the Senate Health Committee, has made an urgent plea to the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to hasten the release of COVID-19 allowances due to healthcare workers in accordance with the law.
This comes amid rising anxieties from the healthcare sector due to the potential lifting of the state of public health emergency in the Philippines.
In an interview after providing aid to fire victims in Quezon City, Go highlighted the critical role played by healthcare workers in combating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The legislator emphasized that the allowances provided under the national budget should be swiftly and appropriately dispensed in recognition of their sacrifices and services.
“Dapat po ibigay sa kanila ang nararapat.”
“Kaya umaapela po ako sa ating DBM, sa DOH, bilisan po ang pagbibigay ng allowances sa kanila dahil napakaliit po ito na halaga sa sakripisyo at buhay na ibinigay ng ating mga health workers. Dapat po ibigay sa kanila ang nararapat,” the lawmaker said.
The senator’s appeal comes in the wake of concerns raised by health workers about the discontinuation of their special allowances following the potential end of the state of public health emergency, which has been in place since March 2020.
If this declaration is lifted, as indicated by Health Secretary Teddy Herbosa, medical workers dealing with COVID-19 patients would no longer receive their emergency allowances moving forward.
Despite these potential changes, Go assured that funding for healthcare workers’ allowances is already set under the 2023 national budget.
“Sa ngayon po, hindi pa naman po officially lifted ang declaration of state of public health emergency,” he said.
“Mayroon po tayong na-allocate na P19.962 billion… sa public health emergency benefits and allowances for healthcare and non-healthcare workers under the national budget 2023.”
“Habang nandyan po ito, kung anuman po ang allocated natin sa ilalim ng national budget, katulad nung 2023, bilang chairman po ng Committee on Health at vice chairman po ng Committee on Finance, mayroon po tayong na-allocate na P19.962 billion… sa public health emergency benefits and allowances for healthcare and non-healthcare workers under the national budget 2023,” Go added.
Additionally, he pointed out that an unprogrammed P52.962 billion is also available, which the government could utilize to pay health workers, asserting that it is provisioned within the law.
As the prospect of lifting the state of public health emergency is being contemplated, Go insisted that the issue should be studied meticulously considering the prevailing risks still associated with COVID-19.
“Sa ngayon, para sa akin, dapat po manatili muna dahil habang nandiyan si COVID at para po makatulong pa sa ating mga health workers, mabigyan sila ng allowance,” he concluded.
In line with government efforts to promote the interest and welfare of healthcare workers, Republic Act No. 11712, which Go authored and co-sponsored, grants mandatory continuing benefits and allowances to public and private healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic or other public health emergencies.
In 2019, he was instrumental in the enactment of RA 11466 or the “Salary Standardization Law 5”. The measure gives all civilian government employees, including nurses, increased salaries broken down in tranches.
In the same year, Go also ensured that enough funding was allocated for the implementation of the 2019 Supreme Court decision that upheld Section 32 of the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, which sets the minimum salary grade of the Nurse I position at SG-15.
