Pay the benefits of healthcare workers
Despite the President’s order to release the benefits of healthcare workers within 10 days which ended on Aug. 31, the long-delayed payment has not been done.
So, where did the billions of pandemic funds go?
Out of frustration, healthcare frontliners staged a protest action on Sept. 1 at the Department of Health grounds to demand the payment of their special risk allowance of P5,000 prorated and transportation, meals and accommodation allowance amounting to P38,000 per health attendant more than a year into the pandemic since September 2020.
There are other benefits that should also be settled like the hazard duty pay and life insurances.
Nurses and doctors have saved the lives of millions of Filipinos and many of them have been infected with Covid-19 and several have died without receiving the benefits they deserve.
Compensate modern-day health heroes now before they are forced to leave the medical profession to seek better work opportunities putting the pandemic response a failure. — PERCIVAL B. ALIPIT, Baguio City