A YEAR after the National Government lifted the state of public health emergency in the country, frontline healthcare workers from around 50 health facilities in Central Visayas continue to wait for their Covid-19 allowance.
The Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) 7 announced on Thursday, July 18, that the region’s disbursement or payout of Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) is in process.
The DOH-CHD 7 said it received the second HEA tranche of the year from the DOH Central Office on July 5.
From the 50 health facilities in the region, a total of 209,278 eligible frontline public and private health and non-healthcare workers are waiting to receive their HEA claims.
These frontline healthcare workers are expected to receive an amount of P1,134,301,468.75.
This amount covers the HEA from health facilities in the region, formerly known as One Covid Allowance, covering the period from July 2021 to July 2023.
The HEA is expected to be transferred to these facilities by the end of September 2024, according to DOH-CHD 7.
However, the DOH-CHD 7 stressed that only the health facilities that submitted the complete documentary requirements before March 16, 2024, are the recipients of this sub-allotment.
In April 2022, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law that grants benefits and allowances for health workers during public health emergencies.
The HEA is provided for under Republic Act 11712, or the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care Workers Act, which entitles health workers to receive HEA for every month they render service while the country is under a state of public health emergency.
The amount healthcare workers receive varies, depending on the risk level of their employment: P3,000 for low-risk areas; P6,000 for medium-risk areas; and P9,000 for high-risk areas
Based on the HEA’s online dashboard, of the total P6.546 billion sub-allotment for the region, P5.411 billion was already disbursed, while P1.135 billion has yet to be disbursed.
In an April 2024 SunStar Cebu report, based on the HEA dashboard, only P61.6 million of the P23.265 billion approved HEA for 2023 has been released.
In Central Visayas, P1.969 billion was approved for 379,339 healthcare workers’ claims for 2023, with zero amount released.
In Cebu Province, a budget of P386.3 million was approved for 81,809 healthcare workers. / CDF