Mayor Sara Duterte has committed her salary equivalent to one year for the infected healthcare workers of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
In an interview on Tuesday, the mayor said she will create a trust fund to aid the frontliners if they acquire the fatal respiratory disease.
“I felt somehow that I am involved in this because I was the one who insisted to the Department of Health (DOH) that SPMC will only be the hospital to accept COVID-19 patients,” she said.
Duterte pointed out that during the meeting last March 14 with the Davao City Task Force COVID-19, she has insisted that no private hospitals should treat COVID-19 patients.
“I have said to use SPMC because it is a government hospital. It is the duty of the government during the public health emergency. It is a pandemic, it is a state of calamity, so it is just appropriate to use the government hospital for this,” she said.
On Monday, it was found out that there were 12 healthcare workers from SPMC who tested positive of COVID-19.
“I asked how much is my annual salary from January to December. I was told that I have a total of P2, 144,256,” she said.
She said a total of P50,000 will be tendered for each worker positive of COVID-19.
“I know that their fear, efforts, and inconvenience is worth more than any amount of money. But at least they have money to buy things that would make them feel better after what happened to them,” Duterte said.
“There are already 12 (SPMC workers). And we will tend them P50,000 each out of the P2.1 million. I will handle the trust fund. And every time I get a list from SMPC of (workers) positive of COVID-19 I will give the P50,000 each until I exhaust all of my P2.144 million,” the city mayor added.
The admission and medication of these SPMC workers, like all other patients with COVID-19 in the city are being taken care of by the city government.
“I will be the one to give and hold the fund. I will be utilizing this (salary) for them until all of my salary will given to them,” she said.
She also bared that the city is expecting financial assistance from the Bayanihan We Heal as One funding of the national government worth P462,047,664. The amount cannot be utilized as financial aid to residents.
Instead, it will be used to purchase supplies of PPEs for healthcare workers and relief goods for the people. (With Samantha T. Burgos)
