Circular hiking OFW premium payments could still take effect after pandemic — PhilHealth exec

Published August 18, 2020 10:53am By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News As far as the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is concerned, the circular stating the increase in the premium payments of overseas Filipino workers could still take effect after the COVID-19 pandemic. PhilHealth social health insurance officer Antonio Danao made the remark on Tuesday during the continuation of the House joint panel inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the agency. Back in April, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered that OFWs no longer would be required to pay premiums, and that it would only be made voluntarily. But Danao said that PhilHealth's interpretation of the President's directive was that the voluntary payments would only be made during the pandemic period. "Ngayon after the pandemic, dahil ang batas ay hindi pa na-amyendahan at yung PhilHealth circular na aming nailabas ay hindi pa na-amend, after the pandemic, magt-take effect pa rin ang PhilHealth circular," he said. "Yan ang pagkakaintindi ng PhilHealth habang hindi pa naamyendahan ang batas at yung kanyang implementing rules and regulations," he added. The President's directive came after an online petition on Change.org sought the repeal of PhilHealth Circular 2020-0014 stating the increase in the premium payments of OFWs whose monthly income ranged from P10,000 to P60,000 to 3% of their monthly salary starting this year. The state-insurer said this is stated in the Universal Health Care Law, signed by the President last year. Under the said circular dated April 16, 2020, OFWs can make payments every three months, six months, or 12 months. For sea-based OFWs, the mode of payment was monthly by salary deduction by their respective agencies or employers. PhilHealth, in response to the controversy, earlier said it up to Congress to review the hike in OFW premium payments. — RSJ, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more