THE Commission on Audit has affirmed three rulings by its Corporate Government Sector and reversed a fourth one to lift the notices of disallowance issued in 2016, 2017 and 2019 against various allowances paid to employees of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
In four separate decisions released last week, the Commission Proper held that personnel of PhilHealth Regional Offices 5, 8, and 10 are entitled to receive hazard pays, subsistence allowances, and laundry allowances that were previously disallowed.
The COA anchored its rulings on the September 28, 2021 Supreme Court decision in the case of PhilHealth vs. COA, which held that employees of the state health insurer are classified as public health workers (PHWs) hence are eligible to receive all benefits due to PHWs under RA 7305 or the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers.
By the said ruling, the SC held that PhilHealth employees are PHWs under the contemplations of RA No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act.
“(T)he SC ruled that there is no longer any question that all PhilHealth personnel, as PHWs, are entitled to receive the benefits provided under RA No. 7305 which include, among others, Hazard, Subsistence, and Laundry Allowances,” the COA said.
It ordered the lifting of the Notices of disallowance issued in 2019 against the hazard pay and subsistence and laundry allowances of casual employees of PhilHealth Regional Office 5 totaling P10.089 million and the same benefits previously disallowed for regular employees of PhilHealth RO5 amounting to P8.75 million.
Also affirmed was the lifting of the 2018 disallowance against similar benefits for PhilHealth RO 8 worth P9.449 million.
On the other hand, a petition for review filed by PhilHealth Region 10 contesting the 2016 disallowance on personnel benefits totaling P2.652 million was granted by the Commission Proper.
The COA, however, said PhilHealth personnel are automatically eligible to receive the said benefits unless they are compliant with the conditions set under RA 7305 that their work areas be located in hospitals and other health institutions which are considered “exposed to patients with contagious or communicable diseases”, radiation-exposed areas, chemical or medical laboratories, drug-abuse drop-in centers or rehabilitation centers; and prison camps or institutions for mental health.
“The audit team (AT) shall evaluate the propriety of the amount granted and the entitlement of the recipients to the Subsistence and Laundry Allowances based on DBM-DOH Joint Circular No. 1, series of 2012. For the Hazard Pay, the AT shall determine first the period or date of the grant of the said benefit to define the extent of evaluation to be conducted,” the COA added.
