THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P6.77 billion to fully settle the remaining Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (PHEBA) owed to healthcare and non-healthcare workers.
In a statement on Tuesday, the DBM said this will cover the 1.41 million claims made by local government units, private health facilities, state universities, and other institutions nationwide from 2021 to 2023.
“This latest release, amounting to P6.767 billion, is in line with the updated request from the Department of Health (DoH). It also follows the directive of our President not to neglect our health workers,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said.
The amount was released through a Special Allotment Release Order to the DoH, enabling the agency to pay the final balance of the government’s commitment to health emergency allowances.
In February, the DoH presented an updated request for additional funds amounting to P6.727 billion during the Monthly Economic Managers’ Meeting.
In total, the DBM released more than P121.33 billion last year to pay the PHEBA of healthcare and non-healthcare workers.
This covers the health emergency allowance (P27.383 billion) and COVID-19 compensation package (P70.7 million) pursuant to the DoH report of validated claims as of April 2024.
“Once again, we appeal to the DoH to distribute this latest release for the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances to our health sector workers as soon as possible. They’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” she said.
The fund was charged against the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs (SAGIP) under the Unprogrammed Appropriations of the 2025 General Appropriations Act. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
