The UNI Global Union–Philippine Liaison Council (UNI-PLC) and the National Federation of Barangay Health Workers (NFBHW) on Monday denounced Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa for his claim that barangay health workers (BHWs) have already received their Health Emergency Allowance (HEA).
Herbosa, speaking during the House Committee on Appropriations’ budget hearing on September 4, 2025, asserted that public hospital and LGU-based health workers had long been paid, and that the latest ₱6.7 billion release was intended exclusively for private hospitals.
“Actually, yung huling tranche was for private hospitals. So yung public nauna na. Yung public, yung DOH, yung LGU, matagal nang tapos,” Herbosa said.But UNI-PLC and NFBHW branded this statement as “misinformed, misleading, and insulting,” stressing that thousands of BHWs remain unpaid.
A joint survey conducted in August 2025 across 119 municipalities and cities showed that more than 17,600 BHWs are still waiting for their HEA, with an average of 16 months in arrears amounting to ₱1.65 billion. Alarmingly, 36 percent of localities surveyed (43 out of 119) reported that their BHWs have received zero HEA since 2020.
“The claim that LGU BHWs are already paid is simply false,” said NFBHW President Khonan Dark Cerial. “Secretary Herbosa’s statement is a betrayal of our sacrifices. BHWs were shocked, angered, and felt deceived.
”Reports from the groups highlight widespread exclusion of BHWs from DOH registries, often at the discretion of city or municipal health officers. In Makati City, none of its 200 BHWs received HEA; in Sibalom, Antique, all 178 were excluded; in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija, only 74 of 118 were recognized.
“From the Magna Carta to the HEA, this government never fails to neglect our BHWs,” said UNI-PLC President Roland De La Cruz. “For the secretary to claim obligations are settled is not only untrue—it erases the lived reality of thousands still waiting for their hazard pay.
”The groups urged Secretary Herbosa to release a full accounting of unpaid HEA, called on the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to stop prematurely closing the books, and appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to investigate the deliberate exclusion of BHWs and to ensure BHW federation presidents are included in grievance boards.
“Our message to President Marcos is clear: we are not asking for favors, we are asking for what is rightfully ours. Every peso unpaid is justice denied,” the groups said.