ILOILO – Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. is requesting the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 to expedite the release of the One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA) for health workers in the province.
The governor sent a letter to DOH-6 regional director, Dr. Adriano Suba-an, on Feb. 23.
“We are writing your good office regarding the status of the One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA) due for the health workers of the Provincial Health Office and Hospital Management Office of the Iloilo provincial government, including the vaccinators hired and deployed by the IPG for the year 2022,” read part of the letter.
Defensor said that, as of this date, health workers were only able to receive OCA claims for the months of January to February 2022.
Based on the provincial government’s record, the DOH-6 was able to receive on Aug. 31, 2022 the supporting documents for the grant of OCA for the months of March, April and May 2022.
On Jan. 13, 2023, an update from the DOH-6 Human Resource Management Office stated that “the OCA for the month of March is due for release the following week. However, as of this time, our health workers have not received their due claims for the said period.”
Defensor’s office received an update on Feb. 15, 2023 “that the OCA claim for the month of March cannot be released yet because there are still lacking documents such as the daily time record, tax identification number, and bank account number for compliance.”
However, the governor stressed all supporting documents submitted underwent checking and validation for completeness by the provincial government before being forwarded to the DOH-6.
“In view of the foregoing, we would like to follow up the processing of the unpaid OCA claims for the remaining months and respectfully request to fast track the processing of such,” Defensor’s letter added.
Explained the governor, “the office in the Iloilo provincial government handling the processing of the documentation requirements is promptly complying if there are deficiencies,” adding that it is also important to note that feedback regarding deficiencies took more than five months to be provided.
Defensor further requested the DOH-6 to provide feedback on the status of the supporting documents as soon as they have been received.
“Ultimately, ensuring that these OCA grants are processed promptly is our way of showing our appreciation to our health workers who have been working hard during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the letter further stated.
There are over 1,000 municipal COVID-19 vaccinators in this province. They are supposed to each receive a P9,000 monthly allowance./PN