DBM: Over P91B released for health workers' emergency benefits, allowances

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Wednesday it has released over P91 billion to cover both public and private health workers’ mandatory emergency benefits and allowances.

In a statement, the DBM said it has released to the Department of Health (DOH), as implementing agency, a total of P91.283 billion for the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (PHEBA) covering all healthcare workers' benefits.

Below are the amounts released by the DBM for the PHEBA in the corresponding years:

• 2021: P12.1 billion
• 2022: P28 billion
• 2023: P31.1 billion
• 2024: P19.962 billion

In a letter to the DOH, the DBM said that it has already released a total of P91.283 billion for PHEBA, including some P73.26 billion for Health Emergency Allowance (HEA)/One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA), P12.90 billion for Special Risk Allowance (SRA), P3.65 billion for COVID-19 Sickness and Death Compensation, and P1.4 billion for other benefits, such as meal, accommodation, and transportation allowance.

The DOH, however, reported that of the said amount, the agency was able to release a total of P76.1 billion to health workers.

The amount was to pay for 8,549,207 claims from July 1, 2021, to July 20, 2023.

“In a meeting held earlier this year between the DBM and the DOH, it was agreed that there is a need for the DOH to urgently finalize the computation of the HEA claims in arrears to enable the DBM to determine if additional funding requirements are necessary despite the cumulatively released PHEBA allocations for our healthcare and non-healthcare workers,” the Budget Department said.

The DBM said it suggested that the DOH develop a HEA mapping that will capture and present all PHEBA claims and payments by Region/Health Facilities for the period covered by the benefit.

“The information gathered from the HEA mapping shall be used in expediting final determination of the amount of deficiency to cover the full settlement of arrears. The DBM likewise recommended that the said record be published in the DOH website for transparency to all claimants and stakeholders alike,” it said.

“The DOH committed to submit the aforementioned HEA mapping with the final amount of computed PHEBA deficiencies not later than March this year, subject to the DBM’s validation based on submitted documents and the amounts reflected in the Health Emergency Allowance Processing System,” the DBM said.

Republic Act No. 11712, also known as the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care Workers Act, is a benefit for frontline workers who rendered services at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic were provided under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2). — RSJ, GMA Integrated News