Senator wants COVID-19 hazard pay granted to all essential workers

Essential personnel of both the public and private sectors should be granted hazard pay amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Senator said over the weekend.

In an emailed statement, Senator Joel Villanueva said all essential personnel should be granted the hazard pay given the risks they face as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the country.

"Titingnan po ng ating kumite ang mga suliranin ng ating mga front-line personnel tulad ng mga sanitation workers, na nag-ambag ng malaking tulong sa ating laban sa pandemya," he said Sunday.

"Ang mga sanitation workers tulad ng street sweepers at garbage collectors ang ilan sa pinaka-apektado ng mga isyu ng mababang sahod at iba pa," he added.

Villanueva filed Senate Bill 1453, which seeks to provide hazard pay for workers providing essential services in critical industries in the private sector, on top of Senate Bill 1455 to cover government workers.

Should the measures be passed into law, they will cover workers in medical and allied health services, banks, morgues, groceries and public markets, pharmacies, restaurants, logistics, food and medical manufacturing, telecommunications, and mass media.

Also covered are those involved in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution; gasoline stations; oil companies; water distribution; sanitation; capital markets; hotels; public transport; civil aviation; and other establishments the government may deem necessary to operate at the time of the emergency

"We will look into this issue as we are set to hear these measures that intend to grant hazard pay for workers in critical industries," he said.

"We will tackle all the finer points of the bill in the committee hearing so we can strike a balance among stakeholders," added Villanueva.

As of Sunday, August 2, 2020, Philippine COVID-19 cases breached the 100,000 mark after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 5,032 more infections, the fourth all-time high in a row, bringing the total to 103,185. 

Frontliners have called on the government to consider reverting back to a two-week enhanced community quarantine, to give health workers time to recuperate from exhaustion due to the non-stop admission of COVID-19 patients.

According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr., President Rodrigo Duterte already ordered the inter-agency task force to consider the plea. — DVM, GMA News