MANILA, Philippines — Kamanggagawa Party-list Rep. Elijah San Fernando on Thursday slammed the Department of Health over P5.15 billion in unpaid Health Emergency Allowances owed to around 47,000 barangay health workers, six years after the Covid-19 pandemic.
San Fernando raised the issue during the budget deliberations of the Committee on Appropriations at the House of Representatives, questioning Health Secretary Edwin Mercado over the absence of a dedicated HEA line item in the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we were so proud to call our healthcare workers and BHWs our heroes, but we cannot even fully provide them the simple Health Emergency Allowance,” San Fernando said.
“It has been six years since 2020, and until now, they still have not received it; the problem keeps being passed from DOH to DBM, then to hospitals and LGUs, and this is no longer acceptable,” he added.
San Fernando cited a 2026 survey covering 294 cities and municipalities, which found that 143 localities had not released any HEA, leaving 22,993 BHWs unpaid for all 25 months covered by the survey.
Mercado, meanwhile, acknowledged 150,000 verified HEA claims worth P741 million and committed to pursuing backpay for claims supported by validated data.
