DOH eyes release of COVID-19 allowance before Christmas

MANILA, Philippines — Health care workers can expect to receive their unpaid Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) before Christmas Day.

“We hope we can give the HEA before Christmas so that our health care workers will have a merry Christmas,” Department of Health officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in Filipino at a press briefing last Tuesday.

Vergeire added that the DOH already sent to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) a letter requesting an additional P27 billion for the HEAs.

“We released the letter last Nov. 8, which will cover the remaining months of the year of the unpaid HEA,” she said.

The DOH is constantly coordinating with the DBM for the release of the needed funds, according to the DOH official.

As of last month, the DOH had already received P11.5 billion for the HEAs of 1,617,660 health care workers covering the period of January to June 2022.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte signed early this year the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Healthcare Workers Act mandating continuing benefits to all health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and future public health emergencies.