House ratifies mandatory benefit bill for HCWs

MANILA, Philippines — Congress has ratified a measure that seeks to provide continuous benefits to public and private health care workers (HCWs), including barangay health workers, during the COVID-19 pandemic and future health emergencies.

In a session before going into election recess on Wednesday night, the House of Representatives approved the reconciled version of the bill, which institutionalizes the grant of benefits to HCWs.

The House plenary ratified the bicameral conference committee report that reconciled House Bill 10701 and Senate Bill 2421. The Senate has also ratified the same report.

This means the bill will now be transmitted to the Palace for signature of President Duterte to become a law.

House health committee chair and Quezon Rep. Helen Tan cited the importance of the measure to protect and welfare of HCWs and ensure their needed services, especially during health emergencies.

Under its reconciled version of the measure, a monthly health emergency allowance ranging from P3,000 to P9,000 depending on the “risk exposure categorization” will be granted to HCWs during the COVID pandemic and future national health emergencies.

The final version of the bill adopted a “One COVID-19 Allowance” as proposed by the Department of Health.

It also seeks to provide compensation for sickness or death, among other benefits.

Apart from pandemic, the bill also considers national emergencies caused by “bioterrorism,” appearance of a new or previously controlled biological toxin, natural disaster, chemical attack or accidental release, nuclear attack or accident, or an attack or accidental release of radioactive material.

The same benefits will also be given to barangay health workers assigned in health facilities, including swabbing and vaccination sites, those administering medical assistance and are part of barangay health emergency response teams.

Also covered are frontliners who are non-health care workers. These include workers rendering medical, allied medical, administrative, technical, and support services in hospitals, health facilities, laboratories, medical or temporary treatment and monitoring facilities and vaccination sites.

The bicam version also added a provision mandating the “creation of an ad hoc grievance board tasked with receiving, investigating, adjudicating and recommending further action relating to any complaints or failure to receive any of the stipulated benefits.”

It also gave assurance that the period from July to December 2021 will be covered by the measure.

9 measures ratified

On the same night the House ratified a total of nine approved bicameral conference committee reports, including amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA) that paves the way for the entry of much-needed foreign investments.

The measure, which legal luminaries and economic experts have endorsed, will remove foreign investment restrictions on all industries except for transmission and distribution of electricity, water pipeline and sewerage, seaports, petroleum pipeline and public utility vehicles.

Both houses of Congress ratified House Bill 78 and Senate Bill 2094.

The bills in effect amended the 85-year-old PSA.

Reps. Joey Salceda of Albay, chairman of the ways and means committee, and Stella Luz Quimbo of Marikina commended the ratification of the measure that will effectively open up to 100 percent foreign equity all economic sectors in the country.

Salceda decried the “growth overhang caused by the 1987 Constitution’s foreign equity restrictions.”

“It’s no surprise that we lag behind our neighbors in terms of foreign direct investments. We are the most restrictive economy in ASEAN, bar none,” he said.

Quimbo said this “development would inevitably result in cheaper airfares and transportation costs, lower shipping costs that would benefit our exporters.”

Telecommunications, airports, railways, expressways, tollways and shipping were among the industries excluded from the definition of public utility in the ratified amendments that were discussed by senators and congressmen.

At the same time, the House also ratified the bicam-approved measure that will help victims of the 2017 Marawi siege seek compensation for damages and properties they lost in the months-long war.

The House also ratified the measure that will extend up to 10 years the validity of firearm license.

It seeks to extend the two-year validity of License To Own and Possess Firearms and firearm registration to five or 10 years, depending on the owner’s preference.

The measure also requires the PNP-Firearms and Explosives Office to issue only a single card for both the license and firearm registration.