DOH asks PHAPi chief to communicate with them for HCW’s COVID-19 allowance

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 28) — The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday called on a private hospitals group to communicate with them for healthcare workers’ One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA) for better coordination.

“We are requesting Dr. Jose de Grano, the president of PHAPi (Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc.), na sana po makipag-usap po kayo sa’min, sa Department of Health, sa aming mga Centers for Health Development (CHD), para nagkakaintindihan po tayo,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.

[Translation: We are requesting Dr. Jose de Grano, the president of PHAPi, please talk to us, the DOH, to our Centers for Health Development, so we can understand each other.]

“Marami po tayong kailangan pag-usapan at kailangan po naming maipaliwanag din sa inyo kung ano po yung mga dapat ma-fulfill na mga requirements, ano yung mga nagiging bottlenecks natin. Sana makapag-usap at masabi nyo rin sa’min kung ano naman yung mga issues para maresolba natin ng mas maayos,” she added.

[Translation: We need to talk about a lot of things and we need to make you understand as well what requirements need to be fulfilled, what our bottlenecks are. We hope we can talk and tell us your issues so we can better resolve them.]

The health undersecretary clarified that there is a budget for the COVID-19 allowance of healthcare workers but hospitals have yet to complete the requirements.

“Base sa aming datos, meron na kaming mga nakahandang budget para i-release sa mga ospital [Based from our data, we have a budget ready for release to the hospitals] but there are some hospitals which really, we cannot release their One COVID Allowance because they have not yet liquidated the previous funds that we have provided for them,” Vergeire said. “Some of the hospitals also have not yet perfected or completed their Memorandum of Agreement which is part of the requirements of the department in order for us to transfer funds to the private hospitals.”

Late last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III urged health facilities to submit their liquidation reports so health workers can receive their long-overdue allowance.

The following day, PHAPi appealed to clarify the submission of liquidation reports as a pre-condition for the release of the allowance.