Manila Bulletin
Palace says health workers' SRA already 'released'; other benefits 'to follow'
Health workers protested the delayed release of their COVID-19 benefits and called for the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
They gathered outside the Department of Health (DOH) Central Office in Manila to demand overdue benefits, including special risk allowance (SRA), hazard duty pay, and allowances for meals, accommodation, and transportation.
Filipino Nurses United (FNU) National President Maristela Abenojar stated that the continued denial of benefits pushes health workers to leave the domestic health sector for better opportunities.
Abenojar also highlighted that the P311 million released by the government for SRA targeted only 20,000 health workers, falling far short of the 500,000 targeted.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured that other mandated benefits will be given but stated that the SRA issue is already closed as it has been released.
Topics in this story
Explore more stories about these topics.
🤖
This story was generated by AI to help you understand the key points. For more detailed coverage, please see the news articles from trusted media outlets below.
News Sources
See how different news organizations are covering this story. Below are the original articles from various Philippine news sources that contributed to this summary.
The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) has set a mass protest for September 1 after the Department of Health (DOH) failed to pay other COVID-19 benefits.
Read more →
Vice President Leni Robredo urged the government to provide special risk allowances and other benefits to healthcare workers, stating there is no excuse for delays after more than a year into the pandemic.
Read more →
The Department of Health (DOH) is urging healthcare workers to reconsider a planned mass protest on September 1, citing the potential strain on hospital operations during a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Read more →
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P311.79 million for the special risk allowances (SRAs) of public and private healthcare workers catering to COVID-19 patients from December 20, 2020, to June 30, 2021.
Read more →
The Department of Health (DOH) has disbursed a total of PHP14.3 billion in benefits for healthcare workers as of September 3, 2021.
Read more →