DOH chief hopes for release of HCW benefits in coming days

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is optimistic that health care workers’ remaining benefits due will be released soon.

A team from the DOH recently had a meeting with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to clarify what still needs to be done to immediately facilitate the release of these funds, according to DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.

“We would like to inform our health care workers that every time we receive our fund from the DBM, we immediately facilitate its release so that they can get their allowances,” Vergeire said at a recent press briefing.

“However, during this time, starting May, we are still trying and working closely with the DBM so we can have our funds released for these allowances. So for every fund released from the government, there are corresponding requirements based on auditing rules and regulations,” she added.

As to these required documents, the DOH official added that the agency was able to complete all of them last Aug. 19 and has officially submitted these to the DBM.

“Hopefully, in the coming days, we will have the release of funds after this meeting, so we can already release the funds to our regional offices for our health care workers,” Vergeire said.

Meanwhile, members of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) from San Lazaro Hospital and Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center on Friday held a lunch-break protest to denounce the delayed release of health care workers’ COVID-19 benefits.

Health workers from government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) hospitals and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) held a series of protest actions last month to express their anger and disappointment over the much-delayed payment of their One COVID Allowance (OCA) from January 2022 to June 2022.

DOH-retained hospitals are still awaiting the release of their health emergency allowance (HEA), which has been implemented since July.

The HEA also covers a retroactive payment of COVID-19 benefits covering July 2021 to December 2021.

“We are one with our fellow health workers from the GOCC hospitals, PGH, private and LGU hospitals as we fight against our delayed COVID benefits. It is very frustrating that the DOH managed to divide and deceive us. DOH does not equally provide our benefits,” Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center Employees Union-AHW president Cristy Donguines said.

“Likewise, it is very annoying to hear that when it comes to our well-deserved benefits, the DOH would always say that there are no allocated funds for our COVID benefits,” Donguines added.

The DBM earlier announced that it had pledged to expedite the processing of the DOH’s requests to release around P63 billion for the provision of OCA.

The DBM, however, stressed that it would facilitate the immediate release of funds for medical frontliners’ OCA once the DOH is able to submit all the documentary requirements.

“The DOH and the DBM are always blaming each other’s incompetence in providing our benefits. Moreso, health workers are now overly demoralized and frustrated upon hearing President Marcos’ statement that the benefits given to Filipino nurses and health care workers are not enough, and that the government could not do much because of the lack of funds,” Donguines said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the chronic understaffing of health workers, thus quality health services to our patients is affected. The sad reality is we health workers are tired and exhausted as we work 12 hours of duty a day, without additional benefits and decent living wage,” San Lazaro Hospital Employees Association-AHW president Jaymmee de Guzman, said.

With the DOH’s proposed 2023 budget, DOH hospitals like the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center and San Lazaro Hospital have zero budget for capital outlay, according to the AHW.

“This means that there will be no augmentation for facilities and equipment, like purchase of more ventilators to equip provision of quality health services,” the group said.

“The absence of a budget for capital outlay in the past years has led to poor quality health care and slow processing of diagnostic procedures. We denounce any form of budget cuts in the health budget,” De Guzman added.