Implementing Rules and

Regulations of the Republic Act

No. 11712 known
as the Public
Health Emergency Benefits and
Allowances For Health Care
Workers Act
 RULE
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION
1. TITLE
These rules and regulations shall be known as the Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR) of
the Republic Act No. 11712, otherwise known as the “Public Health
Emergency Benefits and
Allowances for Health Care Workers Act”. Hereinafter, these rules and regulations shall be referred
to as the Rules.

SECTION 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY

The State recognizes the critical role of health care workers in

providing quality health care to and
ensuring disease prevention in the general population, especially in times of national public health
emergencies. To this end, the State shall reciprocate by promoting their welfare through the
grant of
mandatory benefits and allowances with utmost efficiency.

SECTION 3. DEFINITION OF TERMS

Consistent with the Act, the following terms shall have the corresponding definitions:

3.1 Health facilities — shall refer to

any public or private institution with health care as their
core service, function or business. Health care pertains to the maintenance or improvement
of the health of individuals or populations through the prevention, diagnosis,
treatment,
rehabilitation and chronic management of disease, illness, injury and other
physical and
mental ailments or impairments. For purposes
of this Act, health facilities and other health-
related establishments shall refer to those duly licensed or designated by the
Department of
Health (DOH), including the DOH-Central Office (CO), Centers for Health
Development
(CHD), Provincial/City/Municipal Health Offices, and Local Government Health Offices,
for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and future
public health emergency response
accordance with the Department’s national action plan and strategies. in
3.2 Health care and non-health care workers — shall refer
to
allied, medical, administrative, technical, support and other
all public and private medical,
necessary personnel employed
by, and assigned in hospitals, health facilities, laboratories, medical
or temporary treatment
and monitoring facilities, or vaccination sites. For COVID-19 pandemic, it also includes
those who are involved in COVID-19 response
to mitigate transmission and prevent further
loss of lives in line with the National Action Plan Against COVID-19
strategy of
prevention, detection, isolation, treatment, rehabilitation, and vaccination (PDITR+
Strategy).

3.2.1 Outsourced personnel hired under institutional or individual contract of service

or
job order basis whoare similarly exposed to COVID-19, or other threats in times of
public health emergencies, are included as non-health care workers under this Act.

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 2
 ouaee Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) who are part of the DOH National BHW registry
system assigned in health facilities including swabbing and vaccination sites and
those administering medical assistance, as well as those
assigned in barangay health
emergency response teams (BHERTs)or their successor entities, are included as
health care workers for purposes of this Act.

3.3 Public health emergency — shall refer to an occurrence or imminent

health condition of national scale, that:
threat of an illness or
3341; Is caused by any of the following:
a. Bioterrorism;
b. Appearance of a novel or previously controlled or eradicated infectious
agent or
biological toxin;
A natural disaster;
moeao
A chemical attack or accidental release;
A nuclear attack or accident; or
An
attack or accidental release of radioactive materials; and
3.3.2. Poses a high probability of
any of the following:
a. A large number of deaths in the affected population;
b. A large number of serious injuries
or long-term disabilities in the affected
population;
c. Widespread exposure to an infectious or toxic
agent that poses a significant risk
of substantial harm to a large number of people
inthe affected population;
d. International exposure
to
an infectious or toxic agent that poses a significant risk
to the health of citizens of other countries; or
e. Trade and travel restrictions.

3.4 Risk exposure categorization shall refer to the following levels

of exposure:
3.4.1. Low risk exposure — health workers
performing administrative duties in non-public
areas of health facilities, away from other staff members or
away from patients,
otherwise known as “clean areas”:
3.4.2. Medium risk exposure — health workers within
the health facility that are providing
direct physical care to the general public who
are not known or suspected
COVID-19 patients and working at busy staff work
areas within a health facility;
and
3.4.3. High risk exposure — health workers
entering a COVID-19 patient’s room to
directly provide care for patients involving aerosol-generating
procedures such as
intubation, cough induction procedures, bronchoscopies, dental
procedures and
exams, or invasive specimen collection, as well as those collecting or handling
specimens from known or suspected COVID-19 patients,

Provided, That for purposes of future public health emergencies, the DOH
may formulate a
new risk exposure categorization.

IRR of RA No, 11712 |

Page 3
 RULE I. COVERAGE AND GRANT OF BENEFITS
SECTION 4. COVERAGE

This Act shall apply to all health care and non-health

care workers (HCWs), regardless of
employment status, during the COVID-19 or other public health
may be declared in
emergencies ofnational scale that
the future, from the time of the declaration of the public health
lifted by the President. emergency until

SECTION 5. GRANT OF HEALTH EMERGENCY ALLOWANCE (HEA),

COMPENSATION PACKAGE AND OTHER BENEFITS

The national government shall grant the following benefits all

to HCWs and non-HCWs, regardless
of employment status, during the COVID-19 pandemic or other
public health emergencies of
national scale that may be declared in the future, from the time of the
declaration of the public
health emergency until lifted by the President.

SECTION 6. GRANT OF HEA

6.1 All inclusion criteria provided herein shall be satisfied by the HCWs
eligible for the grant of HEA, which shall replace and not be on
and non-HCWs be
top of the One COVID-19
to
Allowance (OCA).

6.1.1. The HCWs and non-HCWs shall refer

to:
a. Employees occupying regular (permanent or temporary), contractual, or casual
positions, whether full-time or part-time;
b. Workers engaged through contract
of service (COS), including but not limited to
regular, active, visiting, affiliate, honorary, medical or
one-peso consultants, and
job order (JO), as certified by the head ofthe health facility;
c. Outsourced personnel hired under institutional
or individual COS or JO basis
assigned in licensed health facilities or health-related establishments;
d. Duly accredited and registered barangay health
workers (BHWs) in the DOH
National BHW Registry. Pending the registration and accreditation
of BHWs
not included in the DOH National BHW Registry, the local health board
or the
Municipal/City Registration and Accreditation Committee (M/CRAC) shall
issue a resolution stating that these BHWs are assigned BHERTs
successor entities. ortheir

6.1.2. The public or private HCWs and non-HCWs assigned in licensed

health facilities or
health-related establishments involved in COVID-19
response
Against COVID-19 PDITR+ strategy or other national public health
in
line with the NAP
declared by the President. emergency as

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 4
 6.1.3. The public and private HCWs and non-HCWs who physically report for work at
their assigned work stations in licensed health facilities and health-related
establishments on the prescribed official working hours, as authorized by the head
of agency/office.

6.2 The risk exposure classification for the grant of HEA for COVID-19 shall be based on risk
classification to high, medium or low risks of eligible public and private HCWs and
non-HCWs asdefined under Section 3.4 of this IRR.

6.3 HEA for every month of service during the state of public health
emergency based on the
risk exposure categorization as defined in the Act, as follows:

a.Those deployed in “low risk areas” shall be given at least three thousand
pesos
(Php 3,000.00);
b. Those deployed in “medium risk areas” shall be given at least six thousand
pesos (Php 6,000.00); and
c. Those deployed in “high risk areas” shall be given at least nine thousand
pesos
(Php 9,000.00).

6.4. The grant of HEA shall be based on the number

of
hours that the public and private HCWs
and non-HCWs physically report for work in a month,
facility, or his/her authorized representative.
as certified by the head of the health
6:5; Provided, That the HEA shall be released monthly in addition to the existing benefits that
the HCW and non-HCWs receive: Provided, Jurther, That the HEA shall be released full
if a HCW and non-HCW physically renders services for at least ninety-six (96) hours in a in
month; otherwise, the benefit shall be prorated. Further, the hours rendered during
work-from-home arrangements shall not be included
in the computations.
in
the total number of hours rendered

6.6. Subject to the approval of the President, and in consultation with the Department of Budget
and Management (DBM), the DOH may increase the amounts of HEA,
taking into
consideration the cost of necessary expenses incurred by HCWs and non-HCWs
rendering services at the time of public health emergency.
in
6.7. For future national public health emergency declared by the President, the DOH
may
formulate a new set of risk exposure classification.

6.8. The following shall be excluded from the grant of HEA:

6.8.1. Consultants and experts engaged for

a limited period to perform specific activities or
services with expected outputs except medical consultants as mentioned in Section
6.1.1.b.;
6.8.2. Laborers engaged through job contracts (pakyaw) and those paid on piecework
basis;
6.8.3. Volunteers, student interns and apprentices;

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 5
 6.8.4. Individuals, and groups of individuals whose services are engaged through COS
JO, including BHWs, who are NOT assigned in health facilities involved in
or
COVID-19 response or other national public health emergency as declared by the
President;
6.8.5. HCWs and non-HCWs assigned
in health-related establishments NOT duly licensed
or designated by the DOH for COVID-19 or other national public health emergency
as declared by the President;
6.8.6. Those personnel who are in work-from-home arrangements for the entire month; or
6.8.7. Those who are under quarantine and/or treatment due to COVID-19 and have not
rendered actual physical services in health facilities for the entire month.

6.9. The allowance provided herein shall be subject to existing taxation laws.

SECTION 7. GRANT OF COMPENSATION

The following compensations shall be provided to eligible HCWs and non-HCWs

who have
Takes

contracted COVID-19 infection in the line of duty upon submission of

the complete and
compliant documentary requirements to support the claims:

7.1.1. A compensation of one million pesos (Php 1,000,000.00) shall be

provided to the
heirs of the HCWs and non-HCWs who have contracted COVID-19 infection in the
line of duty and died due to COVID-19 as indicated in the death certificate, which
may appear as immediate, antecedent, underlying cause of death or other significant
conditions contributing to death.
7.1.2. A compensation of one hundred thousand pesos (Php 100,000.00) shall be
provided
to the HCWs and non-HCWs who contracted severe
in the line of duty and who have recovered; and
or
critical COVID-19 infection

7.1.3. A compensation of fifteen thousand pesos (Php 15,000.00) shall be provided to the
HCWs and non-HCWs who contracted mild or moderate COVID-19
infection in the
line of duty and who have recovered.

7.2. Determination of the above shall be without prejudice to the professional/clinical

judgment,
using reasonable degree of professional/medical certainty, of the concerned DOH
authorized to evaluate or review based on available medical records.
personnel

The compensation provided herein shall be given to the beneficiaries not

.
later than three (3)
months after the date of diagnosis for outpatient cases or from the date of confinement
or
death and upon submission of complete and compliant documentary requirements without
prejudice to other existing benefits provided under applicable government insurance
systems and their governing laws, and subject toavailability of funds.
7.4. The eligible HCWs and non-HCWs who have already received the above-mentioned
compensation under the existing and applicable laws shall _no longer receive the
compensation under this IRR, except in
cases of reinfection.

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 6
 7.5. The sickness and death compensation may be received by covered HCWs and non-HCWs
during the period of COVID-19 pandemic and in case of any future public health emergency
of national scale, as may be declared by the President.

7.6. The compensation provided herein shall be subject to existing taxation laws.

7.7. The successive order of priority in the granting of death benefits to the legal heirs of the
deceased HCWs and non-HCWs shall be in accordance with applicable rules of intestate
succession under Republic Act No. 386 or the Civil Code of the Philippines. In the absence
of the foregoing, the death benefits shall revert to the funds set aside for sickness and death
compensation for HCWs and non-HCWs.

7.8. For purposes of future public health emergencies, the DOH and the DBM,
subject to the
approvalof the President, may modify the case categorization and compensation.

SECTION 8. PHILHEALTH COVERAGE AND REGULAR TESTING

8.1. PhilHealth shall provide full coverage of hospitalization costs of HCWs and non-HCWs
due to COVID-19, based on the DOH-approved issuances, subject to the following
guidelines:

8.1.1. Only hospitalized confirmed COVID-19 cases shall be covered, as supported with
test result performed in accordance with relevant DOH issuance on testing; and
8.1.2. PhilHealth shall cover direct health care costs based on the current standards for the
clinical management of COVID-19.

8.2. For future national public health emergencies of national scale declared by the President,
PhilHealth coverage for direct health care costs of hospitalized HCWs and non-HCWs shall
be subject to fund availability, and the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC)
assessment and recommendation.

8.2.1. Coverage of appropriate intervention for the condition/disease that caused the
public health emergency will be based on DOH guidelines; and
8.2.2. PhilHealth shall secure recommendation from the HTAC for
any new or innovative
health technology that will be included in the benefit package.

8.3. Regular testing of HCWs and non-HCWs, as often as necessary, based on DOH guidelines,
shall be fully covered by the PhilHealth, based on the following guidelines and conditions:

8.3.1. Regardless of vaccination status, the regular testing of HCWs and non-HCWs,
involved in COVID-19 response shall be covered;
8.3.2. Entitlement of PhilHealth beneficiaries to the benefit package for SARS-CoV-2
testing shall be based on current/relevant DOH guidelines in consideration of the
|

evolving clinical management for COVID-19.

IRR of RA No. 11712 | Page 7

 8.3.3. For future public health emergencies, the regular diagnostic testing of HCWs and
non-HCWs shall be covered, as often as necessary, and subject to the
corresponding
guidelines of DOH, HTAC, PhilHealth, and other relevant regulatory bodies.

RULE
It. APPLICATION OF BENEFITS

SECTION 9. RETROACTIVITY

The benefits under this IRR shall have retroactive application from July 1, 2021 and shall remain
in full force and effect during the stateof national public health emergency as declared by the
President.

SECTION 10. NON-DIMINUTION OF BENEFITS

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to reduce any existing allowance and benefit under Republic
Act Nos. 7305 or the “Magna Carta of Public Health Workers”, 7875
or the “National Health
Insurance Act of 1995”, 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act, pertinent PhilHealth
Circulars,
and other existing laws, decrees and issuances, executive orders, and
contracts or agreements
between health care and non-health care workers and employers.

RULE IV. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRIEVANCE MECHANISM

SECTION 11. ESTABLISHMENT OF A GRIEVANCE MECHANISM

11.1. Non-Adversarial Mediation as Primary Mode of Grievance Mechanism

For purposes of
resolving the dispute arising from the failure to grant the benefits under RA
No. 11712, a non-adversarial mediation shall be adopted to
encourage the amicable
settlement of disputes under this IRR.

11.2. Remedy in Case Mediation Fails Despite Efforts

A person whose claim under R.A. No. 11712 was denied

by the designated processing units
and/or has any other issues and concerns in relation to the
failed to reach an amicable settlement with the designated
payment of
their claims and who
processing units during
mediation may avail ofthe grievance mechanism provided by Section 8 of RA No. 11712.
For this purpose, the following Grievance Boards shall be constituted:

a. The Central Ad Hoc Grievance Board (CAGB); and

b. The Regional Ad Hoc Grievance Board (RAGB).

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 8
 11.3. Composition of CAGB

11.3.1. The DOH-CO Grievance Board, which shall be composed of the following
members as provided by RA No. 11712:

a. One (1) grievance officer appointed by the DOH;

b. (1) representative from the health professional organizations; and
One
€, One (1) Arbitration officer from the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE) exercising jurisdiction where the hospital concerned is located.

11.4. Creation of RAGB

11.4.1. Each CHD shall create in its respective regions, a Regional Ad Hoc Grievance
Board, which shall be composed ofthe
following members:

a. One
(1) grievance officer appointed by the CHD;
b. One
(1)representative from the health professional organizations or recognized
employees’ organizations; and
One (1) arbitration officer from the DOLE exercising jurisdiction where the
is
health facility concerned located.

11.5. Appointing Authority

Members of the CAGB shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health, or by

any
government official as may be delegated by the Secretary of Health. The Regional Director
of the CHDs shall appoint the members of the RAGB
intheir respective areas.

11.6. Scope of the Grievance

11.6.1. The grievable issues covered by this IRR shall be solely limited to issues
arising
from the failure of granting the benefits and other issues related to the
benefits or allowance.
payment of
11.6.2. The following issues are excluded from this
scope:
a. Delay in the payment and prioritization of claims due to
incomplete and
non-compliant submission of documentary requirements;
b. PhilHealth payments not related to the grant of benefit and
compensation
provided by RA No. 11712;
c, Claims for other benefits and compensation provided under other laws; and
d. Conflicting claims of the heirs of the beneficiaries.

11.7. Powers and Functions of the Grievance Boards

The CAGB and RAGB shall receive, investigate, adjudicate, and recommend actions to
arrive at settlement of complaints related to the failure of granting the benefits.

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 9
 Jurisdiction of the CAGB and RAGB

The jurisdiction of CAGB and RAGB shall be based on the areas of the processing units
where the claims are filed.
11.9. Who may File the Grievances to the Board
a.All HCWs and non-HCWs who filed their claims with the processing units were denied
payment of the grant provided under R.A. No. 11712 may file grievance claims with the
proper Grievances Board pursuant tothe preceding section.
b. In cases of incapacity making it impossible for the claimant to personally file his
claims, the claimant may authorize his next of kin or attorney in fact to file the claim
before the proper Grievance Board, provided, that the authorized representative shall
submit a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) and proof of
incapacity, if available, shall be
presented to the Grievance Board. Provided further, that proof capacity to execute an
SPA shall be provided and in
case the next of kin will show proof of relationship.
c. In case of death and for purposes of claiming the death compensation, the legal heirs
may file the claim before the appropriate Grievance Board.
d. In case of conflicting claims among the legal heirs of the HCWs or non-HCWs,
latter shall settle their conflicting claims in accordance with the rules applicable to
the
resolve their dispute.

RULE V. FINAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 12. APPROPRIATIONS

12,1 Pursuant to Section 9 of RA No. 11712, the amount necessary for the implementation of the
said law shall be charged against the available appropriations of the DOH and any sources
available as may be identified by the DBM. Thereafter, the amount
necessary for its
continuous implementation during the state of national public health emergency, including
any deficiency in the funding of the COVID-19 benefits and allowances incurred during
the period of July 1, 2021 until the period of state of national public health
emergency
effect, shall be included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) subject to existing
in
is
budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

122 Further, as provided under the aforecited Section, notwithstanding the provisions under
Section 69 of Republic Act No. 11518, or the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 GAA, as amended by
Republic Act No. 11640, and Section 75 of Republic Act No. 11639, or the FY 2022 GAA,
the President is authorized to exercise powers that are
necessary and proper to undertake
and implement the grant of COVID-19 benefits and allowances under this IRR,
and reprogram, reallocate, and realign unreleased appropriations and unobligated allotment
under the executive department, including government-owned or -controlled corporations,
in the FYs 2021 and 2022 GAAs as may be
necessary to augment the available
appropriations for the grant of COVID-19 benefits and allowances under this Act:

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 10
 Provided, That unreleased appropriations and unobligated allotments for infrastructure and
social assistance projects shall not be discontinued, reprogrammed, reallocated, or realigned
for the above purpose. Any programs, activities or projects (P/A/P) declared as savings for
this purpose may be revived and proposed for funding in the subsequent GAAs, as
necessary.

12.3. The DBM shall release the funds for the payment of the allowances and benefits consistent
with this Act.

SECTION 13. ISSUANCE OF SUPPLEMENTAL GUIDELINES

The DOH and PhilHealth, DBM, and DOF shall

issue supplemental guidelines to govern and
facilitate the operational details of this IRR as deemed necessary

SECTION 14. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

If any part or parts of this IRR shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, other sections or
provisions hereof not affected thereby shall continue to
be in full force and effect.

SECTION 15. REPEALING CLAUSE

All laws, decrees, executive orders, executive issuances or letters of instruction, rules and
regulations or any part thereof inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this IRR are
hereby deemed repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 16. EFFECTIVITY

These Rules shall take effect immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a
newspaper of general circulation with three (3) certified copies to be filed with the Office of the
National Administrative Register (ONAR) of
the University of the Philippines Law Center

So~
Digitally signed by
Vega Leopoldo

FRANCISCO T.
Secretary
DUQUE
II TINA ROS

OlC-Secretary
L. CANDA

Department of Health Department of Budget and Management

Digitally signed by
Carlos G. Dominguez
Date: 2022.06.23
17:14:51 +08'00'

CARLOS G. DOMINGUEZ ITI

Secretary om,
Department of Finance uf
~yboreasoee”

IRR of RA No. 11712 |

Page 1