Health workers demand release of benefits, Duque's ouster

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:48 p.m.) — Underpaid and overworked health workers on Wednesday held protest actions on Wednesday to demand the release of their promised benefits and the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

Wearing protective suits and holding placards, medical workers gathered in front of the DOH’s office in Manila to express their anger over the non-payment of their benefits and the deplorable condition of frontliners leading the country’s battle against COVID-19.

“Dapat tayong mga health workers, sa panahon ng pandemya ay patuloy na inaalagaan ng ating gobyerno. Pero ang dami nang namatay, ang daming nagkasakit, ang dami nang nag-resign,” Alliance of Health Workers President Robert Mendoza said.

(In this time of pandemic, our health workers should be cared by the government. Many have already field, fallen sick or resigned from their work.)

“Ngayong araw na ito ay patuloy tayong makikipaglabas sa Department of Health at sa gobyernong ito dahil nakikita natin na wala ang pagkalinga at pangangalaga sa atin ng gobyerno,” he added.

(Today, we will continue to fight the DOH and the government because we see that the government does not take care of us.)

In a statement, AHW said they will continue the fight until Duque steps down from his post, saying the health chief is “no longer fit to lead the DOH and for the sake of ‘delicadeza.’”

Ahead of Wednesday's protests, employees of various hospitals in the capital region also held demonstrations urging the government to settle unpaid benefits of health workers. 

There will be also be protest actions of medical workers in Baguio City, Pampanga, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Bulacan, Samar, Leyte and Isabela, the group said.

100K health workers yet to receive SRA

In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday, DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said over 100,000 health workers have yet to receive their special risk allowance.

“We have given [the SRA to] almost 379,000 [health workers] and 20,000 plus, so we are just looking at 100,000 plus health workers to whom we are going to give the SRA,” Vega said.

“We are slowly moving towards it. That’s roughly about 76 of the healthcare workers totality in terms of frontliners,” he added.

As the Philippines struggles to keep up with the COVID-19 pandemic, now made worse by the transmission of hyper contagious Delta variant, pressure continues to pile up on already overburdened health workers.

Aside from holding protests, health workers have also threatened to resign over unpaid allowances, low pay and poor working conditions. 

'Slight delay'

Malacañang said the right of health workers to express their sentiments is guaranteed by the constitution even as it gave assurance that all the benefits promised to them would be released.  

"There was a slight delay because of the submission of the names of those in the private hospitals. The special risk allowance (SRA) was given by Congress to all health workers, not just government health workers," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing.  

"The other benefits provided by the law, all of them will be released. But the issue is where to source them if we lack funds. But with regard to the SRA, it has been released," he added.

Asked to react to calls to double the salary of healthcare workers, Roque said Duterte has already implemented the decision raising the salary grade of government nurses.

"The difference between the starting salary of nurses and that of policemen or soldiers is no longer huge," Roque said in Filipino.  

"The problem is in the private sector. The difference between the salary of those in the government, which is based on salary standardization, and the salary of those in private hospitals is huge," he added.

Roque said lawmakers should study whether it is possible to set a minimum wage for medical frontliners. He, however, noted that equal protection of the law may require that a minimum wage be applicable to all sectors.