Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE)

May 25, 2023 Dear Charlyn Ocampo, Thank you for your request dated May 24, 2023 03:29:49 PM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch. You asked for OCA Apllication. Republic Act No. 11639 or the 2022 General Appropriations Act provides for the payment of COVID-19 benefits for public and private healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs, regardless of employment status, who are involved in COVID-19 response in all health facilities, including military hospitals, government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) state university hospitals, and private licensed health facilities. Further, it stipulates that the amount of the COVID-19 benefits shall vary according to the risk exposure of the HCW and non-HCW in a particular setting: three thousand pesos (Php 3,000.00) for low risk, six thousand pesos (Php 6,000) for medium risk and nine thousand pesos (Php 9,000) for high risk Subsequent thereto, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Department of Health (DOH) issued Joint Circular (JC) No. 2022-0001 as implementing guidelines for the grant of One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA), which will cover and substitute for all COVID-19 benefits previously enumerated in the law. Moreover, the COVID-19 Risk Exposure Classification (CREC) of all health workers shall be anchored to the Administrative Order (AO) No. 2022-0001, which provides the parameters for determining the COVID-19 risk exposure of medical, allied medical, administrative, technical, and support personnel in health facilities involved in COVID-19 response. Further, it is noted that in view of the implementation of RA No. 11712 known as the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care Workers Act, with retroactive application from 1 July 2021, the grant of OCA shall be replaced by Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) To streamline the management of OCA, the One COVID-19 Allowance Information System (OCAIS) was developed which shall serve as the official platform automating the entire process for the grant of OCA starting from the master listing of HCWs and non-HCWs, submission of COVID-19 Risk Exposure Classification of Health care Workers (CREC) Reports, up to the processing of OCA forms and reporting of the disbursement of OCA. in the case of HCWs and non-HCWs in private and local government unit-owned health facilities, the concerned Centers for Health Development (CHD) evaluate, validate, and certify submitted reports for the grant of OCA. As such, claims for the grant of the said benefit shall be processed by the CHD with jurisdiction over the health facility. Thus, you may apply to the DOH Regional Offices or CHD having jurisdiction to your facility. Help us to continuously improve our FOI Program Implementation by accomplishing the DOLE-FOI Request Feedback Form through this link: bit.ly/DOLE-FOIFeedbackForm Thank you. Respectfully, Mark Valeros FOI Receiving Officer