Health workers shorten deadline for benefits release from Sept. 1 to Aug. 27

The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) on Thursday said it is now giving the government only until Friday to release their benefits or they would push through with their planned protest action.

In a radio interview, AHW president Robert Mendoza said they had a meeting on Wednesday where they came up with the decision to shorten the deadline.

“Nag-set na kami na yung ginawa naming September 1 [na deadline] ay  dapat sa Friday na, dahil wala kaming inaantay na magandang balita para sa mga health workers,” he said.

(The previous September 1 deadline we made, we changed it to Friday because we are not anticipating good news for the health workers)

Earlier, the alliance threatened to launch mass protests if the Department of Health fails to provide all benefits and compensation to medical frontline workers by August 31.

On Wednesday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced that it released P311.79 million but only for the long overdue special risk allowances (SRAs) of health workers.

Mendoza lamented that the DOH has yet to provide the P38,000 worth of meal and transportation allowance from December 2020 to June 2021 as well as the P3,000 monthly active duty hazard pay.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said earlier this week that the special risk allowance and compensation for health workers will be distributed until Aug. 31.

This was after President Rodrigo Duterte directed the Department of Health and Department of Budget and Management to render the allowances and other COVID-19 benefits for medical workers within 10 days.  —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News