MANILA — AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee on Thursday praised the government's release of the last tranche of the health emergency allowance (HEA) for healthcare workers who served during the Covid-19 pandemic. This follows a commitment made by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to fulfill the promise of compensating frontline healthcare workers.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released the remaining PHP27.453 billion HEA on July 5. This amount covers 5,039,926 unpaid HEA claims and 4,283 Covid-19 sickness and death compensation claims for eligible healthcare and non-healthcare workers. "We thank President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for fulfilling the promise made to our frontline healthcare workers by finally releasing this much-awaited allowance that has long been due them," Lee said in a news release.
Lee emphasized the need for continued improvement in working conditions and benefits for healthcare workers, acknowledging that financial compensation alone cannot fully repay their sacrifices during the pandemic. "Our healthcare workers deserve better salary and benefits. They deserve better than waiting for years to receive their allowances and suffering from poor working conditions," the Bicolano lawmaker said.
Lee also called for the approval of House Bill No. 6335, or the "Filipino Covid-19 Health Care Heroes Remembrance Act," which would declare March 22 of every year as a special working holiday to honor the heroism of frontliners during the pandemic. On March 22, 2020, Dr. Romeo Gregorio "Greg" Macasaet, an anesthesiologist at Manila Doctors Hospital, became the first healthcare worker in the Philippines to die of Covid-19.
As of January 2022, approximately 29,368 healthcare workers in the Philippines had contracted the virus, with 117 fatalities. "Our healthcare workers fought to save as many lives as they could, working with whatever information and medical intervention they had and the supplies and equipment they possessed. Their roles were key to us weathering the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic," Lee said.
"We must never forget the lessons of the past and remember those who served our country during the darkest days of this generation. Our Covid-19 medical frontliners deserve to be memorialized to serve as an inspiration to future generations of Filipinos," Lee added.