Makabayan Bloc seeks special risk allowance, active hazard duty pay for health workers

The Makabayan Bloc has filed a bill seeking to grant special risk allowance and active hazard pay duty to all health workers during a state of public health emergency.

Under House Bill 9640 or the Special Risk Allowance and Active Hazard Duty Pay for All Health Workers Act, the national government should ensure the provisions of P15,000 special risk allowances and P5,000 active hazard duty pay for all health workers on a monthly basis and should not be pro-rated for every month that they are providing service amid the state of public health emergency.

The lawmakers said this will cover healthcare workers working in public and private sectors and other health facilities, regardless of their employment status, including contractual employees in the form of job order, contract-of-service and human resources of health and area of assignment.

The bloc claimed that the current allowance and hazard pay of medical workers are insufficient and limited. It said the special risk allowance at present is only a maximum of P5,000 while the hazard pay should not exceed P3,000.

The group also decried that based on a memorandum of the Department of Health, only public healthcare workers catering to COVID-19 patients or providing coronavirus response during this state of public health emergency are entitled to hazard pay, substinence and laundry allowances.

The proposed measure mandates the DOH, with the approval and coordination with the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Labor and Employment, to review, when necessary, the need to adjust the allowance and hazard pay.

The bill also stated the appropriation of more than P70 billion for this purpose.

According to Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate, the at least P18.4 billion unobligated funds under Bayanihan 2 could be used to start to compensate health workers.

The extension of the law is needed to enforce this, Zarate stressed.

Bayanihan 2 is set to expire on June 30. A measure extending its validity until December 31 of this year was passed in second reading at the House of Representatives. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News