It is yet again the season of giving and cheer with the holidays just around the corner. This is also the time of year when public and private offices slow down to recuperate before taking on next year’s challenges. Even the Congress has gone on holiday break beginning Dec. 17 after passing the budget bill of P5.268 trillion for 2023, which was signed into law on Dec. 16 as the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
In the 2023 budget, the Department of Health (DoH) may be allocated anything between the House-approved P296.3 billion and the Senate-approved P323 billion. In 2022, the DoH was granted a budget of P268.4 billion. Although these figures may look sufficient to those who prepared and approved the budgets, we cannot ascertain whether these amounts are really adequate to cover the needs of our health workers.
With the Philippines still facing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on top of other health emergencies, our health workers are constantly being overworked. However, the compensation provided still has not reached the point where we may confidently say that their salary and benefits are commensurate to the risk they are facing every day, as evidenced by the protest held by a health workers group at the DoH in Manila in November.
According to a DoH presentation from September 2021, out of the 526,727 healthcare workers in the Philippines, 462,955 or approximately 87.9% are in public health. It is no secret that one reason behind the Philippines’ dwindling supply of health workers is the abundance of opportunities for higher pay overseas. There is, therefore, a question of how we can properly compensate our health workers in order to keep them in the country, especially as part of the public sector, to attend to our health-related needs and concerns.
In response to the needs of public health workers, Republic Act (RA) No. 7305 or the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers, was signed (a) to promote and improve the social and economic well-being of health workers, their living and working conditions and terms of employment; (b) to develop their skills and capabilities to make them more responsive and better equipped to execute health projects and programs; and (c) to encourage those with proper qualifications and excellent abilities to join and remain in government service. Under this law, the list of allowances to which our public health workers are entitled to include Hazard Allowance, Subsistence Allowance, Longevity Pay, Laundry Allowance, and Remote Assignment Allowance.
For context, RA No. 7305 defines “health workers” as all persons who are engaged in health and health-related work, and all persons employed in hospitals, sanitaria, infirmaries, health centers, rural health units, barangay health stations, clinics and other health-related establishments owned and operated by the government or its political subdivisions with original charters, and includes the medical, allied health professional, administrative and support personnel employed regardless of employment status.
Currently, several bills have been filed in the 19th Congress aimed at amending RA No. 7305 to provide expanded benefits to public health workers in the form of increases in salaries and allowances, income tax exemptions for hazard allowance, and additional allowances such as Special Risk Allowance, Rice Subsidy Allowance, and Clothing Allowance. However, all these bills are still pending with the respective committees of both houses since the focus of the Senate and the House of Representatives was the 2023 budget.
Since the bills are still pending, our legislators may also consider providing additional support to our public health workers in the form of a 20% discount on certain purchases (e.g., for transportation services, for accommodation in hotels, resorts, and other similar establishments, in restaurants, in recreation centers, for medicine and drug purchases, for admission fees) as an alternative or an addition to the above-mentioned additional allowances. The 20% discount privilege will be similar to what is currently available to national athletes, coaches, and trainers since our public health workers may also be considered extraordinary individuals who bring honor and recognition to the Philippines.
Unlike the additional allowances currently being proposed in the bills, the government neither has to allocate a separate budget nor divert the current funds in order to grant the 20% discount privilege to public health workers. Public health workers would definitely feel the direct impact of this privilege since the additional cash saved from the 20% discount can go towards purchasing other needs and wants.
I believe such a benefit would spark greater interest to work in the public health sector, which would also be in line with RA No. 7305’s objective of enticing individuals with excellent credentials and skills to join and remain in government service.
Given that there are bills pending in both houses of Congress, the intention of our legislators to promote the welfare of public health workers is clear. The next step is to follow through on those intentions with appropriate action, which may be through the passage of laws that would support public health workers’ needs.
Perhaps this time, we can show our gratitude to public health workers by giving them a lasting gift that will help sustain them in their calling to public service. This benefit would surely show our appreciation for their efforts, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and at the same time, highlight their value as precious stars on the Christmas tree that is the Philippines.
The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.
Paolo John Dantes is an assistant manager at the Tax Services department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.
