Duterte OKs release of P1.185B for healthcare workers’ unpaid SRAs - Go

President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the release of some P1.185 billion from government coffers to pay special risk allowances (SRAs) to healthcare workers in public and private hospitals, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go said Wednesday.

“P1.185 billion was approved for release to cover the payment of SRA to government and private healthcare workers (HCWs) who have not received SRA yet,” Go, Duterte's former aide, told GMA News Online.

According to Department of Health Assistant Secretary Maylene Beltran, the government has released around P8 billion for the SRAs of 496,314 healthcare workers for the period December 20, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

In her presentation at a congressional inquiry on Tuesday, Beltran said the DOH has an additional request of more than P3 billion for the SRAs of 184,799 healthcare workers.

Beltran also said a total of 390,662 healthcare workers received hazard duty pay. The amount released for the Active Duty Hazard Pay (AHDP) totaled P6,555,957,185 as of January 17.

Several medical groups and healthcare workers’ organizations have been urging the DOH to release their SRAs on time as the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. — VBL, GMA News