Photo from PCOO Global Media Affairs
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday approved the grant of additional compensation to health workers deployed to the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Administrative Order (AO) No. 35, Duterte directed government units to subsidize human resources for health with up to P3,000 in active hazard duty pay monthly.
Duterte also signed AO No. 36, authorizing the release of P5,000 in special risk allowance monthly for private and public health workers directly catering to, or are in contact with, Covid-19 patients amid the health crisis.
Both grants will be exempt from income tax.
Each subsidy will be pro-rated based on the number of days a health worker physically reports for work in a month, reckoned from Sept. 15 until Dec. 19 this year.
The incentives will be sourced from the Bayanihan 2 budget.
“There is a need to recognize the heroic and invaluable contributions of our public health workers throughout the country, who bravely and unselfishly risk their lives and health by being at the forefront of the national effort to address the public health emergency,” AO36 stated.
The country has recorded 409,574 Covid-19 cases as of Nov. 16. John Ezekiel J. Hirro