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MANILA – The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPi) is coordinating with the Department of Health on the denied application for claims of some healthcare workers.
Earlier, the Private Hospital Workers Alliance of the Philippines said 63,772 healthcare workers did not receive their benefits provided under Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan 2 law.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the delay in the distribution of the benefits was due to the "lapses in the application forms".
In a televised public briefing Tuesday, PHAPi president Dr. Jose de Grano said proper documentation for the release of the special risk allowance might have been the problem, noting that most of the private healthcare workers have received a part of their benefits.
"Pero 'yung susunod po na para sa mga healthcare workers ay hinihintay na po namin 'yung sunod na ilalabas ng Department of Health (DOH) nakapag-submit na po halos ang mga different hospitals (But we're already waiting for another batch of benefits to be released by the DOH because many different hospitals have submitted [documents])," he said.
The private hospitals coordinate with the DOH provincial health offices, which in turn forward the applications and concerns to the central office, he added.
On April 27, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11712 which mandates continuing benefits to public and private health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and other future public health emergencies.
It covers all healthcare and non-healthcare workers, regardless of employment status, during the Covid-19 or other public health emergencies that may be declared in the future, from the time of the declaration of the public health emergency until lifted by the President.
De Grano said the mandatory benefits would be a "big help for healthcare workers who were in the frontlines during the pandemic".
"Natural naman po siguro mabigyan sila ng kaukulang benefits nang sa gayon po ay 'di na po sila aalis sa bansa (They deserve to be given appropriate benefits so that they will not leave the country)," he added. (PNA)
