THE Senate Committee on Health, chaired by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, convened on Thursday, January 16, to address pressing concerns regarding Health Emergency Allowances (HEA) for healthcare workers.
The hearing provided updates on the disbursement of benefits, unresolved appeals, and the government’s efforts to address funding challenges. Senator Go, a known health reforms crusader, emphasized the need to expedite the release of benefits while ensuring transparency and accountability as well as addressing appeals and grievances from health workers fighting for their HEA.
Asec. Albert Domingo from the Department of Health (DOH) provided an update on the status of the HEA claims. He explained that, based on DOH data as of January 15, the department had successfully processed and paid 16.7 million HEA claims, amounting to a total of PhP 99.3 billion.
Despite this progress, Domingo acknowledged the remaining unfunded claims, amounting to PhP 6.8 billion for 1,411,546 claims submitted after the October 31, 2024, deadline.
Senator Go further inquired about the promised payment of PhP 27 billion intended to cover arrears by the end of October. “‘Yun po ‘yung sa maalala ko, ‘yun po ‘yung ipinangako n’yo, October 31, mababayaran ‘yung PhP 27 billion. Bayad na po ba ito? Na-release na po ba ito? O on-process pa po ‘yung iba?”
Dr. Domingo clarified that the payment had already been made and had reached the Centers for Health Development. These centers, in turn, distributed the funds to hospitals and health facilities, which were responsible for disbursing the allowances to individual healthcare workers. However, he acknowledged that some healthcare workers might not have received their allowances yet due to delays at the hospital level.
Senator Go reiterated the Senate’s oversight in ensuring that healthcare workers’ concerns are heard and addressed through proper legislative oversight. He highlighted the sacrifices made by healthcare workers during the pandemic and the government’s responsibility to support them. “Utang na loob po natin sa kanila ang buhay natin sa panahon ng pandemya. Hindi natin mararating ito kung hindi po dahil sa inyo,” Senator Go stated.
Donell Siazon, Union President of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Hospital and representative of the United Private Hospital Union of the Philippines expressed concerns about alleged unpaid claims in Central Visayas. He highlighted the lack of a grievance system to address these appeals.
Siazon directly appealed to the DOH, urging them to establish grievance boards at the regional level. He expressed frustration over the lack of progress, highlighting that no responses had been received from the DOH and that the regional grievance boards remained inactive.
DOH assured that progress had been made, noting that on December 9, 2024, the DOH issued Department Memorandum 2024-0469. The memorandum outlined directives for creating ad-hoc grievance boards to address COVID-19-related benefits and expedite the resolution of grievances. He added that all Centers for Health Development, along with the Ministry of Health in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, had been instructed to fast-track the establishment of their respective Regional Ad-Hoc Grievance Boards (RAGBs).
Discussions turned to the availability of funding for unpaid claims. Senator Go underscored the importance of ensuring healthcare workers’ claims are addressed: “Tayo naman dito, as chairman ng Committee on Health, ako naman po ‘yung legislator at willing na magpa-gitna at makikiusap at patuloy na mangungulit sa ating agencies na sana, if validated, sana po’y mabigyan po n’yo ng bagong pag-asa yung mga healthcare workers natin.”
A representative from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) explained that the government had allocated a total of PhP 121.325 billion for public health emergency benefits and allowances, which included PhP 27 billion released in the previous year. However, the DBM also acknowledged funding limitations due to the veto of PhP 2 billion in unprogrammed appropriations for Fiscal Year 2025. They noted that any additional funding requirements would need to be sourced from the available budget of the respective agency.
Senator Go urged both agencies to explore all legal avenues to address the pending appeals: “Kung validated naman, kung may pondo naman kayo, bigayin n’yo na lang po sa mga healthcare workers natin na pinaghirapan at pinagpawisan naman po nila ‘yan.”
The hearing concluded with an agreement on key steps moving forward. Senator Go requested updates from the DOH and DBM within two weeks to ensure progress is being made.
Senator Go ended by reaffirming his dedication to the health reforms crusade, particularly in advocating for healthcare workers’ welfare: “Basta legal lang po, gawan n’yo po ng paraan. Maawa naman tayo sa ating mga healthcare workers. At patuloy po ang ating pangungulit as long as may resulta po. Bayaran ‘yung mga HEA, maaksyunan po ‘yung mga hinahing ng ating mga kababayan.”
The current backlog relates directly to an earlier legislative milestone, Republic Act No. 11712, passed in the previous Congress which Go is one of the authors and co-sponsors. This act grants mandatory benefits and allowances to both public and private health workers during public health emergencies such as COVID-19. However, despite the lifting of the state of public health emergency in 2023, a significant volume of unpaid claims and appeals remain unaddressed.
“Recognizing your sacrifices, I have pushed for measures aimed at supporting healthcare professionals. Among these is Republic Act No. 11712, which mandates the provision of Health Emergency Allowance to healthcare workers who served during the pandemic. We continue to push for the release of the budget for the payment of the Health Emergency Allowance. Rest assured, I will continue to fight for your rights and well-being,”Go said earlier.