• CHERYL G. CRUZ
More than 60 personnel of the City Health Office (CHO) have asked the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod to review and correct the list of beneficiaries of the Health Emergency Allowance (HEA), or One COVID Allowance.
In their letter-petition dated Sept. 27, and endorsed by the SP to Mayor Alfredo Benitez Oct. 9, the personnel said there is need to ensure “that all health workers receive the benefits they rightly deserve, according to their risk exposure during the (COVID-19) pandemic.”
“When our CHO Administrative Office was preparing the master list of employees eligible for benefits (under Republic Act 11712, or the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Healthcare Workers Act), we made numerous attempts to verify our inclusion in the correct risk exposure category, based on our actual duties during the pandemic,” the letter, signed by around 68 healthcare workers, stated.
“Unfortunately, the CHO Administrative Office did not allow us to review this list before submitting it to the City Treasurer’s Office for payment,” the petitioners claimed, adding they were “dismayed to discover that many of us—doctors, nurses, and midwives, who had daily, direct contact with confirmed and suspected COVID patients—were inaccurately categorized as ‘low’ or ‘medium risk exposure’.”
“In contrast, some colleagues, who were relieved from duty during the pandemic were classified with “high risk exposure,” they said.
“We find the preparation of this master list to be highly unfair, irregular, and seemingly conducted in bad faith. Therefore, in the interest of justice, we respectfully seek your intervention to review and correct this list, ensuring that all health workers receive the benefits they rightly deserve, based on their risk exposure,” the petitioners said.
Under Section 5 of RA 11712, the amount of HEA shall vary, depending on the risk exposure categorization of healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs, or at P3,000 for low risk, P6,000 for medium risk, and P9,000 for high risk.
The petitioners said that employees with low-risk exposure were those performing administrative duties in non-public areas away from patients or other staff members; medium-risk, or workers who provided direct care to the general public in non-COVID-19 areas or working in busy staff workspaces within health facilities; while those with high-risk exposure were workers directly involved with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, including those conducting aerosol-generating procedures or handling related specimens.
Councilor Claudio Jesus “Kalaw” Puentevella, chairperson of the SP Committee on Health and Sanitation, proposed a resolution endorsing the letter-petition to Benitez’s office.
He told the Negros NOW Daily that he is willing to help healthcare workers, who feel that they should be qualified to also receive the HEA. “Those who have concerns can make a request. If they are all qualified, I will support in following up their requests.”
In July, some 50 job order employees assigned at the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office/911 Bacolod City Emergency also asked the city government for HEA higher than P3,000.
In their letter-appeal also endorsed by the SP to the City Mayor’s Office, the JOs said they are considered frontliners as they were the first ones tapped to assess COVID and non-COVID patients before transport to health facilities and hospitals, at the height of the health pandemic.
The letter-appeal came as the SP authorized Benitez July 24 to sign the memorandum of agreement with the Department of Health Region 6 on the transfer of funds to the city to pay the HEA of eligible healthcare workers and non-HCWs.
As per the MOA, there is P83.5 million available funds for the payment of arrears to eligible HCWs and non-HCWs.
In March last year, a MOA was also signed between the city government and DOH6 on the release of P37 million HEA to HCWs and non-HCWs.
The initial list of recipients reached 1,400, although several councilors that time questioned the qualifications in availing of the HEA after several healthcare frontliners complained that they were not included in this list. | CGC
