Around 426,000 health workers have yet to receive their meal, accommodation and transportation (MAT) allowance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health said Friday.
According to Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, MAT benefits for health workers would be funded by the P1.5 million contingency fund from the Office of the President.
"We are going after this now. We reached out to the Office of the President for the P1.5 million contingent fund that we wanted repurposed. The President agreed," Vega said during the Laging Handa briefing.
"Anytime next week, we hope to distribute these benefits sourced from the Office of the President for our 426,000 health workers who are yet to get their dues," Vega said.
On November 26, St. Luke’s Medical Center Employees Union Benjie Foscablo told senators during the budget hearing for the proposed 2022 budget that they had not received the MAT benefits provided by the Bayanihan laws for the last five months.
Melbert Reyes of the Philippine Nurses Association also said during the same hearing that some nurses only received P900 in benefits since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
In a statement issued last November 28, the DOH said health workers who had yet to receive the benefits due them should file a written complaint to the DOH-Complaints Handling Unit at dohpau.chu@gmail.com with the name of the concerned health facility, the incident and supporting evidences so their concerns can be properly addressed.