MANILA (UPDATE) — A group of health workers on Thursday said it would give the Department of Health until Friday to give them their due benefits.

The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) earlier set its deadline to August 31 before its members go on strike, the group’s president Robert Mendoza said.

• Health workers threaten mass protest if benefits not released by end- August

"Nag-usap na kami kahapon together with our leaders. Ang ating binigay na deadline hanggang Friday na lang...'Yung ginawa naming September 1 dapat sa Friday na kasi wala kaming inaantay na magandang balita para sa mga health workers," AHW president Robert Mendoza told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(We talked with our leaders yesterday and came up with the deadline on Friday... Our previous deadline on September 1 was rescheduled to Friday because we don't expect any good news for health workers.)

Health workers were not happy with the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing into the DOH's spending of its pandemic funds on Wednesday, Mendoza said.

• Billions of DOH funds for health workers' benefits repurposed: senator

"Hindi sila masaya sa kinahinatnan sa hearing kahapon kasi naka-focus lang talaga sa SRA (special risk allowance) ang DOH na ibibigay na benepisyo. Parang pinagdadamot nga ng gobyerno ang mga benepisyong ito," he said.

(They're not happy with yesterday's hearing because the DOH was focused only on the SRA. It's like the government is being stingy.)

"Posible magsasanib ang public and private health workers para ipakita sa gobyerno ang pagkadismaya."

(It's possible public and private health workers will unite to show government their dismay.)

• PH healthcare system might collapse if medical workers remain uncompensated: group
• 'Medical lockdown', mass resignation of PH health workers in private sector possible: union

President Rodrigo Duterte on Aug. 20 gave the health and budget departments 10 days to release benefits of health workers, noted his spokesman Harry Roque.

"Siya na po ang nagbigay ng taning– no ifs, no buts– the SRAs and everything else that the health workers are entitled to should be released within 10 days," he said in a press briefing.

"Iyon ‘yong pagkakaintindi ko po sa mandato ng Presidente. Hindi naman niya po ini-specify na SRA lang. Lahat ng dapat ibigay na benepisyo dapat maibigay."

(He gave the deadline... That is my understanding of the President's mandate. He did not specify it was limited to SRA. Everything that should be given must be released.)

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