DOH on release of SRAs for health workers: 450K done, 70K left

The Department of Health (DOH) has yet to pay 70,714 out of 526,627 eligible healthcare workers with their special risk allowance (SRA).

Health Assistant Secretary Maylene Beltran made such disclosure during a Senate budget hearing on Wednesday, adding that they are requesting P2.7 billion from the Department of Budget and Management for the SRAs of over 119,000 additional healthcare workers.

“We already have provided 456,013 healthcare workers or 87 percent of our estimated 526,627 eligible potential healthcare workers po. As of now po, we are still processing 13 percent which is around 70,714 of the total 526,627,” she said.

Of the 70,714, SRA payments for 41,587 healthcare workers are currently being processed.

“We've already given our request to DBM with supplemental justification and supporting papers po submitted to DBM last October 15 for another total amount of P2.7 billion to cover additional healthcare workers, which has been requested by various health care facilities and we are still awaiting, madam chair, the response from DBM,” she added.

The P2.7 billion requested funding will cover the SRAs of 119,353 healthcare workers.

Senator Panfilo Lacson asked the DOH about the challenges they face which result in the delay of SRA payments to the medical frontliners.

In response, Beltran said the delay in payments were due to lack of supporting documents from local government units’ hospitals, as well as private healthcare facilities.

“Supporting documents po would be memorandum of agreements because we cannot download po to these healthcare facilities which are beyond the DOH, and [those] which are public healthcare facilities at the LGU level, as well as private hospitals. So we need memorandum of understanding or MOA po,” she said.

Moreover, Lacson asked the DOH to consider providing SRAs to outsourced non-medical frontliners such as janitors, personnel who handle waste disposal, among others.

“Siguro kapag nag-outsource yung hospital, advise na rin natin na isama na nila sa kanilang contract yung parang SRA type assistance to their personnel,” Lacson said.

(Maybe for those outsourced by the hospital, we advise to include in their contracts the SRA type of assistance to their personnel.)

Beltran said they will consider Lacson’s concern as she explained the DOH is already studying this possibility. However, they are currently paying SRAs for a particular period.

“For this particular period, because we're paying for the period December 20, 2020 up to June 30, 2021, per batas na pinag-angkalahan namin, hindi pa kasama yung outsourced personnel (as per the law which serves as our basis, the outsourced personnel are not yet included),” Beltran said.

Last week, Lacson and Senator Risa Hontiveros urged Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to include non-medical personnel, janitors, and waste collectors in the coverage of SRAs. — RSJ, GMA News