Hontiveros seeks probe on unpaid salary, benefits of healthcare workers

Senator Risa Hontiveros is calling for an investigation of the 'bottlenecks' that continue to prevent the timely release of the COVID-19 hazard pay and special risk allowance for healthcare workers.

She filed proposed Senate Resolution No. 584 to pursue the investigation after medical frontliners and advocacy groups staged protests to complain that they still had not received compensation since March.

"Halos buong taon at buong pandemya na silang nagtatrabaho nang walang hazard pay. Administrative Order No. 35 issued by Malacanang mandates that an additional P3,000 every month be distributed to health workers, but we cannot even pay them their basic benefits. Ang dami na nating utang sa kanila," she said.

"Hindi pwedeng nagpapasalamat tayo sa kanilang kontribusyon ngunit hindi pa naibibigay ang kakarampot nilang hazard pay at special risk allowance. Ang totoong pasasalamat ay ang agarang pagre-release nito. May mga pamilya din sila," she said.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), delays were caused by the lack of P108.7 million needed to roll out all the benefits. However, Hontiveros, who helped pass the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act of 2020 (BARO), said the P20.57 billion allotted for the country's health-related COVID-19 response, which includes compensation for health workers, has since then been released.

"Na-release na ang funds sa ilalim ng BARO nung October. December na. Bakit may 16,764 medical front liners pang hindi nababayaran? Nasaan ang bottleneck? Matagal pa ang laban lalo na para sa health workers natin. We need to investigate so we can loosen the bottleneck and create policies that allow us to compensate them and their families fairly and immediately," she said.

"Puro tayo lip service sa mga health workers natin. We cannot keep making promises and underdelivering. We cannot wait for the next health emergency; we have to make things better now. But should there be another crisis, we have to make sure this never happens to them again," she said.

"Healthcare workers are also victims of this economic crisis we are all experiencing. Yet they do their job despite the risks and save millions of lives everyday. Our minimum but important duty is to at least pay them right and on time," she concluded.