DOH promises COVID-19 affected healthcare workers compensation under Bayanihan Act
Updated June 3, 2020, 9:11 PM
The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday (June 3) assured healthcare workers who have contracted coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that they will receive the compensation as stated in Republic Act (RA) No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
“We bear witness to the efforts and sacrifices of our healthcare workers everyday. That is why the DOH is committed to effectively implement Section 4 (F) of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing.
The law provides that public and private healthcare workers who contract severe COVID-19 infection be given P100,000, while the families of health workers who have died of the disease will receive P1 million.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III urged the DOH to immediately provide the necessary compensation to the affected healthcare workers.
Vergeire said they are now finalizing a joint administrative order with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the implementation of the program for healthcare workers.
“It is being finalized this week. It has undergone stringent review and has retroactive application from February 1, 2020,” Vergeire said.
“In preparation for its immediate implementation, our public assistance unit has been calling the heirs of 32 healthcare workers for the submission of necessary documents to claim the benefits,” she added.
Vergeire also added that they are now gathering information “to identify those who are classified as severe patients so they can be informed also of this benefit.”
Sotto had written to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on the matter, calling for the implementation of the law’s provisions.
“Our government has provided funds for the programs under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which include the subject compensation. So all the more reason for it to be implemented without delay and difficulty,” Sotto stated in the letter.
“I urge your office to immediately implement Section 4, paragraph (f) of RA 11469 and update this representation of its status on a weekly basis,” he added.
As of June 1, there have been 2,669 healthcare workers infected with COVID-19, while 32 have died.
