In this health war, medical frontliners serve as our soldiers and first line of defense.

Never were they trained for a pandemic. Unlike soldiers trained to fight wars and hold peace, medical personnel are trained to cure, remedy a health issue and move on to the next patient.

Hontiveros’ resolution cited a report that Philippine General Hospital (PGH) workers and frontliners denounced the “glacial pace” of the release of long-awaited COVID-19 benefits. These reportedly included the P500 daily hazard pay and the one-time special risk allowance, which were mandated by Malacanang Administrative Order Nos. 26 and 28.

It was estimated in the resolution that the amount needed to compensate PGH frontliners is around P49 million.

“We keep paying our health workers lip service. We cannot keep making promises and under-delivering. We cannot wait for the next health emergency. We have to make things better now. But should there be another crisis, we have to make sure this never happens to them again,” Hontiveros said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“Healthcare workers are also victims of this economic crisis we are all experiencing. Yet they do their job despite the risks and save millions of lives everyday. Our minimum but important duty is to at least pay them right and on time,” Hontiveros added. – Rappler.com