Workers in 4 specialty hospitals seek release of P7K allowance
A group of health-care workers from four specialty hospitals held a protest on Wednesday to call for the release of their medical allowance for 2025, amounting to P7,000 each, while urging lawmakers to conduct an investigation into the unpaid benefits.
In a statement, the Alliance of Healthcare Workers (AHW) said the “lunch break” protest was held by workers from the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), Philippine Children’s Medical Center and the Lung Center of the Philippines, all considered to be government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).
Aside from the release of the unpaid benefits, the group also demanded an increase in the entry salary of health-care workers, including nurses and other health allied professionals, saying that it should be raised to P36,000 to P50,000.
Employee unions affiliated with the AHW have been demanding the release of their medical allowances since last year and that the benefit be given in cash rather than being coursed through schemes under health maintenance organizations.
Workers from hospitals under the Department of Health (DOH) and other government agencies have already received their medical allowance, but not those from the four GOCC hospitals, the AHW said.
“At present, GOCC hospitals are the sole health institutions that have yet to receive this allowance, while other hospitals and civilian government agencies are already awaiting the 2026 release,” Sally Ejes, president of the PHC Employees Association-AHW, said in the statement.
Significant help
“We stand firm in our demand for the immediate release of the medical allowance for 2025. We will not stop until what is rightfully due to us is provided. While the amount may be modest, it is a significant help for ordinary health workers who earn low wages, especially since many of the medicines we need are not even available in our own hospitals,” she added.
Under Executive Order No. 64, qualified government civilian personnel are granted a medical allowance not exceeding P7,000 a year.
The AHW said the GOCC hospitals had argued that health-care workers were no longer entitled to the medical allowance under EO 64 because they were already covered by the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers or Republic Act No. 7305.
However, the group asserted that the benefits under EO 64 and RA 8305 were “distinct” and “separate” from each other, and the executive order did not exclude GOCC hospital employees from receiving the allowance.
“We have earned this allowance through our continued service, especially amid difficult working conditions. It is our right to receive the full P7,000 in cash. Every peso counts for our families, especially with the rising cost of living,” said Jocelyn Guinto, president of the NKTI Employees Association-AHW.
