MANILA – In a statement released Tuesday night, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that a total of PHP76.1 billion in health emergency allowance (HEA) has been disbursed to eligible public and private health workers. This amount covers 8,549,207 claims for the period spanning from July 1, 2021, to July 20, 2023.
“For Fiscal Year 2024, the General Appropriations Act gave only PHP19.9 billion for HEA under programmed appropriations,” the DOH said.
The DOH reported that it has disbursed PHP19.7 billion, which accounts for 99 percent of the allocated PHP19.9 billion, to all eligible health facilities. However, an additional estimated PHP27 billion is still needed to settle the arrears filed by these health facilities.
“We continue to work hand-in-hand with the Department of Budget and Management to grant HEA to all eligible health workers. We are ready to release the funds as soon as the concerned private and LGU (local government unit) hospitals will comply with the law that requires liquidation,” the DOH said.
The law mandates the DOH to establish memoranda of agreement and await full liquidation by the LGUs and private hospitals of the HEA funds already disbursed before making subsequent releases of additional funds. The DOH maintains a list of hospitals and health facilities with outstanding liquidation requirements.
The department has been collaborating with private and LGU-owned hospitals and health facilities through its Centers for Health Development in the regions to address these issues.
