Munsayac

ACT as One seeks triple COVID duty allowances for medical frontliners

February 12, 2022 People's Tonight 328 views

ACT as One which is advocating public health and social justice is proposing to triple the COVID duty allowances of the country’s healthcare workers (HCWs).

In a statement, ACT as One Party-list said that once elected to Congress, the group will pursue legislation that will ensure better COVID duty pay for HCWs.

“Our medical frontliners face tremendous risks while on COVID duty. Thus, we should exert every effort to give them what is just and fair,” ACT as One first nominee Atty. Reynold Munsayac said.

“I believe being a frontliner and taking care of COVID-19 patients is one of the most dangerous occupations during a pandemic. Our medical frontliners put their lives on the line everyday. They deserve better pay,” he stressed.

Healthcare workers last year were given a Special Risk Allowance (SRA) and the COVID Active Hazard Duty Pay (AHDP) amounting to P5,000 and P3,000 per month, respectively, for a total of P8,000 in COVID duty pay for all HCWs regardless of exposure to the virus.

But the DOH this year announced it will consolidate these into one program – the One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA) – which will compensate HCWs with P9,000, P6,000 and P3,000 per month for high, moderate and low risk, respectively for COVID duty pay.

ACT As One has opposed the move stressing that the DOH effectively reduced the COVID allowances of medical frontliners because the P8,000 they received as SRA and AHDP across-the-board last year will now amount to only P6,000 and P3,000 to some HCWs.

Munsayac said even if a frontliner qualifies for the highest tier in the OCA, which is P9,000 per month for 22 days of work, it amounts only to less that P410 a day. If working for 26 days a month, then it goes down to P346 a day, he said.

“This is amount is a pittance for our ‘heroes’ who risk their lives and those of their loved ones. It’s not joke to be exposed to COVID-19 everyday. Thus, they deserve our thanks and continuing support,” Munsayac said.

ACT As One Party-list was initially organized as rapid response group composed of concerned citizens that provided aid to hospitals, medical institutions and medical frontliners struggling under heavy stress at the height of the pandemic in 2020.

The group provided, among others, PPEs, medical equipment, food and other supplies to hospitals, and even established its own COVID isolation facilities in UP Diliman when the cases surged.

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