Palace: Issues being ironed out for release of health workers' benefits

Palace: Issues being ironed out for release of health workers' benefits Malacañang said Monday that things are being ironed out for the release of the overdue benefits of healthcare workers during the pandemic. “Sa ngayon po, ito ay inaayos po at may isyu lang nang kaunti sa COA, kung saan ang DOH ay nagpadala na po ng sulat sa DBM para sa mga clarifications patungkol sa issues,” said Palace Press Officer Claire Castro in a press briefing. (As of now, this is being resolved. There is just a minor issue with COA, and the DOH has already sent a letter to the DBM seeking clarifications regarding the matter.) The Palace made the statement after the Alliance of Health Workers said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. failed to address in his recent report to the nation the unpaid benefits of medical frontliners during the pandemic. “…the President failed to acknowledge the long-overdue unpaid benefits still owed to thousands of health workers. He made no commitment to release the unpaid P7,000 Medical Allowance, the long-delayed Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) for eligible health workers for 2021, 2022, and 2024, and other pending benefits that health workers have repeatedly demanded,” the group said in a statement. The rules and regulations covering the disbursement of the P7,000 medical allowance for healthcare workers took effect on January 1, 2025. The DBM said the medical allowance “shall be given to each qualified civilian government personnel as a subsidy to avail of health maintenance organization (HMO)-type benefits.” Malacañang assured that the benefits will soon be released once the issues are settled. “Makakaasa po kayo at inaayos lang po ang mga issues para liwanagin ito sa DBM,” said Castro. (You can rest assured that we are resolving these issues to clarify things with the DBM.) —Vince Angelo Ferreras/AOL, GMA News