All qualified public and private health workers in the province who were exposed to a Coronavirus disease (Covid) positive patient during the State of National Emergency are set to receive the Special Risk Allowance (SRA) in the coming days.
This comes following the approval by Vice Governor Rene Lopez Relampagos and the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of a resolution that gives authority to Gov. Arthur C. Yap to sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Health (DOH) for the SRA’s release.
In a pre-session conference led by Relampagos and the rest of the SP members on Tuesday, October 12, Dr. Tomas Cesar Lopez, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) explained that the said SRA is mandated under Administrative Order No. 42 that was issued by Malacañang on June 1, 2021.
It authorizes the continued grant of the Covid SRA to public and private health workers who are directly serving or in contact with Covid positive individuals covering the period of Dec. 20, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
Under the “Bayanihan to Recover As One Act” or Republic Act 11494, the national government grants SRA to public and private health workers who are directly serving or are in contact with Covid patients.
In relation to this, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)-DOH issued a Joint Circular No. 1 series of 2021 which provides the implementing guidelines on how the said benefit will be granted to eligible health workers.
For this, the national government and DOH are setting aside an amount that will be downloaded to the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh), and this money will be released and distributed to all eligible recipients in consideration of their services covering the period of Dec. 20, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
According to the proposed MOA, the DOH Central Visayas shall transfer to the PGBh the amount of P50,378,604.23 for the Covid SRA.
As its counterpart, the PGBh will identify, certify and submit the list of eligible frontliners.
Meanwhile, Dr. Lopez said there was already a prior release of SRA in 2020 and this is the second tranche of the grant for the period Dec. 2020 to June 2021.
