DepEd confirms that medical allowance can be released in CASH

There is another significant development from this morning’s dialogue between the ACT Teachers Party-list, ACT-Philippines, and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara at the DepEd Central Office.

GRANT OF MEDICAL ALLOWANCE:

DepEd confirmed that teaching and non-teaching personnel will be able to receive the ₱7,000 medical allowance in CASH. To claim this, employees simply need to submit a receipt from any health maintenance organization (HMO), regardless of the amount or the actual medical expenses incurred, including hospitalization.

Here are the clarified guidelines:

• For those with an existing HMO plan, they only need to present the official receipt of payment to their HMO provider to secure the cash allowance.
• For those without an HMO, they will still receive the cash, provided they later submit a receipt showing it was used to pay for an HMO.
• DepEd emphasized that it is not required to exhaust the entire ₱7,000 on the HMO, noting that there are affordable prepaid HMO packages valid for a year, allowing personnel to save or use the remaining balance for other health-related needs.

Teacher and employee groups welcomed this move as a practical form of health support but maintained that they will continue to advocate for more extensive and hassle-free medical benefits for all education workers.

GOOD NEWS FOR TEACHERS (READ HERE)