Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has scolded the Department of Health (DOH) “for seemingly messing up the paperwork in the grant of extra monetary benefits to our nurses and other health-care workers, which has prevented many of our medical frontliners from receiving them in connection with their COVID-19 related services, almost a half-year after the enactment of a new law that is supposed to guarantee the timely release of such extra pay.”
“Instead of putting off the required documentation, as claimed by the Department of Budget and Management leadership for the release of additional economic benefits for our nurses and allied HCWs, our health officials should be riveted on wrapping up such budgetary paperwork so our medical frontrunners can, at last, get such extra pay due them under the new law that was enacted earlier this year precisely in recognition of the excellent job that they have been doing to save lives since the onset of the pandemic,” he said.
“It is awful to learn that our health officials have allegedly messed up the paperwork needed for the swift release under Republic Act 11712 of additional allowances and other benefits for our medical frontliners at continuous risk of COVID-19, at this time when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had just praised our nurses as ‘my (his) heroes’ and assured HCWs of his government’s full support for measures to equalize their pay, polish up nursing education and upgrade their career prospects,” he lamented.
“The new law was written by the 18th Congress exactly to prevent a repeat of last year’s incident in which many of our HCWs had complained about not getting on time the health emergency allowance due them for their invaluable services in caring for Covid-infected Filipinos even at great risk to their own lives since the pandemic broke out in early 2020,” he said. Rio N. Araja
Villafuerte is a co-author of RA 11712.
Acting DOH Secretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire earlier cited the delayed release of the funds as health officials were reportedly “still trying to negotiate” with the DBM for the release of such benefits called the One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA).
She said DOH hd long been requesting for the budget for DBM, and that “up until now we had not been granted for the release of this funds kaya wala pa rin po kaming maibigay sa inyo ngayon.”
Villafuerte said DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman claimed no funding for additional HCW benefits could be given because the DOH had not yet submitted the complete documentary requirements for the OCA release.
Villafuerte said the DOH and DBM must resolve the OCA issue right away in light of President Marcos’ support for improving the working conditions of medical frontliners.
