ILOILO — Nearly 20,000 barangay tanods across Iloilo Province remain unpaid their ₱2,000 annual incentive for 2025 due to incomplete and inconsistent documentation, but provincial officials pledged that all delayed payouts will be released on or before June 2026.
The commitment was made during a Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee hearing on Monday, February 9, convened by Provincial Board member June Mondejar, chair of the Committee on Public Order and Security. The hearing tackled the year-long delay in releasing the incentive mandated under Provincial Ordinance No. 2020-240.
So far, only Cabatuan barangay tanods have received the 2025 incentive.
“For 2025, only one town has been paid — Cabatuan. Aside from Cabatuan, no one else has received it,” Mondejar told reporters.
Officials traced the delay mainly to deficiencies flagged by the Provincial Treasurer’s Office, including missing master lists and payrolls, lack of barangay captain certifications on the required tree-planting activity, and clerical errors submitted by Associations of Barangay Captains (ABCs) in the province’s 43 local government units.
A recurring issue involved name discrepancies between payrolls or master lists and the tanods’ identification cards — mistakes that, under existing rules, halt the release of the entire municipal payroll.
“If the documentary requirements of even one barangay tanod in a municipality are incorrect, the release of the payroll for the whole town is affected,” Mondejar explained.
“They fail to comply with the requirements — spelling errors, you know, documentary requirements,” he added.
To prevent repeat delays, Mondejar proposed designating meticulous document preparers within each ABC and instituting a counter-checking system before submissions reach the provincial government.
“This can be solved if the person preparing the documents is meticulous and there is proper counter-checking,” he said.
He also urged ABCs lacking manpower to seek job-hire assistance from their local chief executives to ensure timely and accurate preparation of payrolls.
During the hearing, the Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB)–Iloilo Province and ABC presidents from all 43 LGUs committed to correcting deficiencies and resubmitting complete documents to enable staggered releases.
“What we are talking about is last year’s incentive. It should be released before June if possible—once documents are complete, it will be released immediately. Whoever finishes first gets released first,” Mondejar said.
He appealed for patience from tanods still awaiting payment, stressing that the provincial government recognizes their voluntary service.
“We gathered all concerned officials here to ensure the financial assistance that should have been released every December can be released on time or immediately. This is proof that we are not neglecting them—we truly value their voluntary service for the peace and order of Iloilo Province,” Mondejar said.
The ₱2,000 annual cash incentive is provided under Provincial Ordinance No. 2020-240, which grants benefits to barangay tanods in recognition of their role in maintaining peace and order.
“The purpose is to motivate, inspire, and encourage our barangay tanods to continue their voluntary service for peace and security in their communities,” Mondejar told Panay News. “The amount is smaller compared to the incentives given to other barangay volunteer workers because there are so many of them.”/PN