ILOILO – Thank you very much for the praises but barangay health workers say they need more than recognition for their backbreaking work.
Barangay health workers are healthcare providers. They render primary care services in the community such as first aid, maternal, neonatal, and child health, and community-based interventions including immunization clinics for barangays.
But barangay health workers are volunteers; they do not have regular pay from the government despite their crucial role in carrying out government healthcare programs and services down to the grassroots. They are only given meager honoraria.
But that soon may change.
“We hope for the best and a positive result,” said Iloilo Provincial Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) federation president Violeta Gicana, 68, of Barangay Bagumbayan, Guimbal, and a barangay health worker for 26 years.
They all look forward for the approval of the proposed Magna Carta for BHWs, said Gicana.
The magna carta is now with the Senate after the House of Representatives approved it, according to BHW party-list’s Rep. Angelica Natasha A. Co during the Provincial BHW Congress in Iloilo City on Aug. 24.
A priority measure of the Marcos administration, the magna carta mandates incentives and benefits to accredited BHWs. These include hazard allowance, transportation allowance, subsistence allowance, one-time retirement cash incentive, health benefits, insurance coverage and benefits, vacation and maternity leaves, and cash gifts.
Under House Bill No. 6557, all accredited BHWs actively and regularly performing their duties and responsibilities shall be entitled to the following incentives and benefits:
* a monthly honoraria worth P3,000
* hazard allowance, which in no case shall be less than P1,000 per month
* subsistence allowance for meals worth P100
* transportation allowance worth P1,000 per month
“Syempre, as barangay health workers, ginakalipay namon nga makabaton sang P3,000 nga honorarium, pero wala pa na maman-an kay wala pa ma-aprubahan sa Senate,” Gicana told Panay News.
Once passed into law, Gicana hoped the national government would take care of funding concerns.
She said the provincial and municipal governments, much less the barangay, could not afford to provide the benefits with their reduced share of the National Tax Allocation (NTA), formerly known as the Internal Revenue Allotment.
Gicana added that BHWs deserve a higher honorarium and other benefits for playing a crucial role in implementing health programs, especially risking their lives during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Most BHWs in the province receive P500 to P1,000 per month in honorarium.
Among the programs they carry out are immunization activities, prenatal care, environmental sanitation, monitoring of blood pressure, and referral of patients to health facilities.
“Kon sa nagareklamo nagareklamo man eh. Pero on top of that, more on voluntary service kami, we love our work. Naga-enjoy kami sa amon obra,” she said.
BHW La Lina Ballao, 63, of Barangay Ilongbukid, San Rafael and a health worker for 32 years, is also hopeful of the Magna Carta’s passage.
“Happy gid kami nga ma-materialize ina nga proposal,” Ballao, president of BHWs in San Rafael town, told Panay News.
She added: “Ma-motivate gid kami sa pag-obra, daw enjoy man sila kay may ginapaabot.”
Ballao and the other 112 BHWs in San Rafael each receive P1,000 per month.
They also get travel allowances from the barangay and P1,200 annually from the local chief executive.
She said they have been volunteering out of their love for the community.
“Okay lang ang trabaho, makaya. Pero during pandemic budlayan gid kami kag wala nahatag ang amon benefits sa special risk allowance kag mga COVID allowance. Wala kami ya nagaenjoy sadtong benefits,” Ballao also said.
Jovy delos Reyes of Barangay Lacturan, Dumangas and a BHW president of the town, said: “Daku gid na nga bulig kay iban nga BHWs wala man sang ginabaton nga honorarium.”
Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, head of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office, said the magna carta would greatly benefit BHWs who are always on the frontlines.
“Sa gamay gani nga incentives nakita naton how much ang contributions kag grabe ang commitment sang BHWS, how much more nga may magdugang pa gid. So mas malipayon sila nga magserbisyo,” Quiñon said.
The provincial government, meanwhile, extends P4,000 as honorarium to each BHW every December.
The proposed law also grants a one-time gratuity cash incentive of not less than P10,000 “in recognition of the BHW’’s loyalty and dedication and for having continuously and satisfactorily served at least [15] years”.
Through the bill, all BHWs shall be entitled to a 20 percent discount on all items enumerated under Section 4(a) of Republic Act (RA) No. 9994, otherwise known as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010. “Provided,” it stated, “that the privileges shall not be claimed if the BHW is eligible for a higher discount as may be granted by the commercial establishment and/or other existing laws.”
BHWs will also be entitled to health benefits upon the enactment of the measure.
These include free medical care, including surgery and surgical expenses, medicines, x-ray, and other laboratory fees, when confined in any public hospital or health institution; emergency assistance not exceeding the amount of P5,000 chargeable against the fund of the barangay concerned, for expenses incurred in the nearest private hospital or clinic in case of extreme emergency where there is no available public hospital; and mandatory and immediate membership in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) as indirect contributors.
All BHWs will also be granted insurance coverage and benefits from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) which shall be borne by the LGU concerned.
For this purpose, the GSIS shall design an insurance benefit package suited to the needs and status of BBWs. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency)/PN
