The Philippine Nurses Association said Sunday it welcomed the allocation of P50 billion for the special risk allowance of medical frontliners in the 2022 national budget.
PNA President Melbert Reyes estimated that approximately a million health workers, of whom half are nurses, from both public and private hospitals, would benefit from the SRA allotment.
“This SRA is across the board. All health workers will receive it equally,” Reyes said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo.
Reyes does not know the exact amount that each health worker will get, but said he initially proposed to Congress a P15,000 SRA.
He added the SRA included the meals, accommodation, and transportation allowance.
“It’s like a one-time compensation. It covers everything,” he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed the 2022 budget last December 30.
Last year, the delayed release of health workers’ benefits triggered protests from medical frontliners across the country.