DBM releases special risk allowance of 20K health workers amid pandemic

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released the special risk allowance (SRA) of 20,000 health care workers on Wednesday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DBM made the announcement following President Rodrigo Duterte's order to release such benefit within 10 days after being delayed for so long. 

“The amount under Bayanihan 2 has actually been reverted [to the Treasury] but we were able to finance the SRA for the 20,000 health care workers whose claims have not been paid under the Bayanihan 2 law and we released it today,” Acting Budget Secretary Tina Rose Marie Canda said during a Senate hearing.

“DOH (Department of Health) will be downloading it, I would assume, starting this afternoon. We got it from the MPBF (Miscellaneous and Personnel Benefit Fund) for healthcare workers [for those in government]. For those in the private sector, we cannot classify it as a personnel benefit so we actually tapped it from the unprogrammed fund,” she added. 

Canda said there were P311 million funding backup for the SRA sourced from excess revenues as certified by the Bureau of Treasury. 

“I would say the SRA will be given first to healthcare workers who are directly affected [by COVID-19],” Canda said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III confirmed Canda’s disclosure. 

“We will already download this to the regions, to the hospitals,” he added. —KG, GMA News