Legarda lauds bicam approval of health workers’ benefits amid COVID-19 crisis
Three-term Senator and Antique Congresswoman Loren Legarda (File Photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial candidate Loren Legarda hailed the bicameral approval of the bills aimed to grant benefits to health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Legarda said the House approval of the reconciled version of Senate Bill 2421 and House Bill 10701 will be beneficial to public and private health care workers even in future emergencies.
“Our healthcare professionals, health workers, and frontline personnel are our warriors. They care for COVID-19 patients and are at highest risk of being exposed to the virus,” Legarda said in a statement.
Loren Legarda (File Photo)
“We should give them all the protection that they need because they make tremendous sacrifices for us.”
Unde the bill, medical frontliners will receive a monthly health emergency allowance ranging from P3,000 to P9,000, depending on their “risk exposure category”.
“This is the first step towards ensuring that our healthcare system is able to cope with the challenges of this global pandemic,” Legarda said.
Legarda, a House deputy speaker, co-authored Republic Act 11494, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which provided a special risk allowance for healthcare workers exposed to the virus.
She also filed House Bill No. 10621 to institutionalize the grant of such medical and other benefits to the frontliners.
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