THE Department of Health (DOH) has announced that it has already accomplished the task given to them by President Duterte to distribute the monetary benefits of frontline health-care workers (HCWs)—who either perished or fell critically ill—in the fight to contain the virus pandemic.
Thirty of the 32 qualified beneficiaries of HCWs who have died already received the P1 million each, including 19 others who fell severely ill after contracting the disease.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are still coordinating with the two heirs of the surviving family members who are based in the United Kingdom and the United States, for the transfer of the government assistance.
“Another two were validated and added to the list [on Tuesday] to make the total 34. [However, upon verification, two were delisted from the list, so what was left were 32 in the list,” Vergeire told the BusinessMirror late Tuesday night.
Two HCWs have been found ineligible based on the current implementing guidelines under Joint Administrative Order 2020-001, hence, their claimants have been delisted from the list of beneficiaries. The ineligibility was brought about by issues in the diagnoses specified on the death certificates.
Under the law, public and private health-care workers who contract severe Covid-19 infection while in the line of duty will be awarded a P100,000 compensation, and P1,000,000 to the family of any health worker who may die while taking care of infected patients.
“Following the directive of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to immediately release the compensation to the bereaved families and recovered health-care workers by June 9th, DOH in its accomplishment report announced that heirs of fallen health-care workers due to Covid-19 have received compensation from the DOH,” the agency said in a news statement.
“These frontliners made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We will honor their bravery by continuing their fight and ensuring that they will not have died for nothing. No amount will ever be enough to repay them for their significant contribution to the fight against Covid-19, but through this token of gratitude we hope the families they left behind are supported and taken care of,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.
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