Government workers in the Philippines to receive hazard pay

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the Administrative Order No. 43 granting this hazard pay of up to P500 per day to government personnel who are physically on duty during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ). 

Those who are entitled to this benefit include staff who occupy a regular, contractual or casual position or those engaged through a contract of service, job order, or similar schemes. 

Such staff “are inevitably exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection and other similar health dangers and hazards,” the president said in the Administrative Order, in explaining the rationale behind this move. 

“The personnel, however, must have been ‘authorised to physically report for work at their respective offices on the prescribed official working hours’ by the head of the agency or office,” Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, former presidential aide, had earlier said. 

The government said it hoped that private firms would also give the same benefit to their employees. 

READ: WFH employees to be prioritised for vaccination in the Philippines

Some regions of the Philippines were first placed under community quarantine in March this year. Since then, the status of areas under the strict ECQ, MECQ or the more open general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ varied depending on the number of COVID-19 cases, according to Inquirer.net.