By Joseph Pedrajas
Government workers of Navotas City who are reporting for work during the period of the enhanced community quarantine will receive a daily hazard pay after the passing of a new measure. Under Ordinance No. 2020-10, workers who are occupying regular, contractual or casual positions, including contracts of service or job orders, will get P500 each every day if they go to work.
Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco (NAVOTAS PIO/ MANILA BULLETIN)
In passing the ordinance, Mayor Toby Tiangco and the city council expressed belief that "it is but right that we honor and recognize their sacrifices." Tiango added, “Our frontliners had to leave the safety of their homes and risk exposure to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to be able to fulfill their duties and serve Navoteños."
According to the public information office (PIO), employees who are covered under the measure include nurses, doctors, and other staff of the Navotas City Hospital and the City Health Office, staff of offices who are required to have a skeletal workforce, garbage collectors, street sweepers, and utility personnel. Ordinance No. 2020-14 also granted P500 daily hazard pay to barangay health workers who report for work at health centers and temporary medical facilities in the city.
The measure underscored that “although BHWs are not employees of the city government, they are primary health workers who supplement and complement the health workers in the City Health Office and have been serving at the frontlines.” The PIO disclosed that the Navotas City Council is also currently working on another ordinance that will grant P500 hazard pay to barangay nutrition scholars and a one-time special risk allowance for all city health workers.