MANILA - Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Tuesday urged the Employees' Compensation Commission (ECC) to increase compensation for employees who suffer from work-related illness or injury.

The ECC has more than P90 billion in funds and it was "high-time" it increased workers' compensation, Bello said.

Employees who contract COVID-19 in their line of work will get P10,000 cash assistance and will be "assisted in their hospitalization," he added.

"I was telling them we should give a more reasonable cash assistance, not just P10,000, I don’t think workers will be able to be compensated with that amount," Bello told ANC's Headstart.

"It’s high time that they should upgrade the assistance because this rate has been going for the past 20 years. So it’s high time we review this cash assistance to a more realistic and practicable rate."

Workers may file their claims before the ECC, show their employment status and prove the illness or accident they met during work, Bello said.

"They can apply for it if they can show they are employees and that they met an accident during work or they got sick because of work then they will be entitled to this cash assistance," he said.

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv