Authorizing the Continued Grant of the COVID-19 Special Risk Allowance to Health Workers Directly in Contact with COVID-19 Patients

June 1, 2021

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 42

AUTHORIZING THE CONTINUED GRANT OF THE COVID-19 SPECIAL RISK ALLOWANCE TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HEALTH WORKERS DIRECTLY CATERING TO OR IN CONTACT WITH COVID-19 PATIENTS DURING THE STATE OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY

WHEREAS, due to the State of Public Health Emergency under Proclamation No. 922 (s. 2020) and State of Calamity under Proclamation No. 1021 (s. 2020) throughout the country on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, and pursuant to Section 4 (h) of Republic Act (RA) No. 11494 or the "Bayanihan to Recover as One Act," Administrative Order No. 36 (s. 2020) authorized the grant of the COVID-19 Special Risk Allowance (SRA) to public and private health workers directly catering to or in contact with COVID-19 patients during the state of national emergency for the period 15 September 2020 to 19 December 2020;

WHEREAS, Section 10 of RA No. 11494 provides for the appropriations and a standby fund, which shall be used for the response and recovery interventions for the COVID-19 pandemic, and further provides that the standby fund shall be made available once additional funds are generated from savings and unused amounts to fund programs and activities authorized in the said law;

WHEREAS, Section 1 of RA No. 11519 extended the availability for release, obligation and disbursement of appropriations authorized under RA No. 11494, including, among others, the automatic appropriations of new programs, projects and activities pursuant to Section 4 thereof, until 30 June 2021;

WHEREAS, the continuing State of Public Health Emergency warrants the further grant of the COVID-19 SRA to recognize the heroic and invaluable contributions of our health workers throughout the country, who bravely and unselfishly risk their lives and health by being at the forefront of national efforts to respond to the pandemic;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. Continued Grant of the COVID-19 SRA. — National government agencies, government-owned or -controlled corporations, and local government units are hereby authorized to further grant the COVID-19 SRA authorized under AO No. 36, subject to the same terms, conditions and exclusions therein, except as otherwise modified by this Order, as follows:

i. Section 2 of AO No. 36 is hereby amended to read, as follows:

Section 2. Conditions on the Grant of the COVID-19 SRA. — The following conditions shall be observed in the grant of the COVID-19 SRA to health workers:

xxx xxx xxx

e. The grant of the COVID-19 SRA shall be pro-rated based on the number of days that the frontline health workers physically report for work in a month, as certified by the head of the hospital, laboratory, or medical and quarantine facility, or his/her authorized representative, reckoned from 15 September 2020 until 30 June 2021, x x x;

f. All claims for the payment of the SRA to public and private health workers shall be validated by the Department of Health.

ii. Section 4 of AO No. 36 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 4. Funding. — The amounts required for the implementation of this Order shall be sourced from the P13.5 Billion appropriated under Section 10(a) of RA No. 11494 for health-related responses to COVID-19. The DBM shall release the funds for the payment of the SRA, consistent with existing budgeting, accounting and auditing laws, rules and regulations.

The additional funding necessary for the continued grant of the SRA until 30 June 2021 shall be charged against any appropriate funding source as authorized under RA No. 11494, the appropriations for which have been extended for release, obligation and disbursement until 30 June 2021, pursuant to Section 1 of RA No. 11519.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall release the funds for the payment of the SRA, consistent with existing budgeting, accounting, and auditing laws, rules, and regulations.

SECTION 2. Amendment. — Except to the extent modified by the foregoing, all other provisions of AO No. 36 shall remain in full force and effect. All issuances, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 3. Separability. — If any provision of this Order is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 4. Effectivity. — This Order shall take effect immediately following its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 1st day of June, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twenty-One.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 117, No. 24, p. 6327 on June 14, 2021.