A Lacson presidency will push for a legislation that would institutionalize higher compensation and benefit packages for barangay healthcare workers (BHW) nationwide under his administration.
Partido Reporma standard-bearer Senator Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson announced this during his and running mate Senate President Vicente "Tito" C. Sotto III’s town hall meeting with residents and sectoral organization leaders in Cauayan City, Isabela on Monday, March 14.
The veteran lawmakers already introduced this measure under Senate Bill (SB) 2498, known as the “Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers,” which they filed last January 31 during the third regular session of the 18th Congress.
‘'We filed the bill for the benefit of our barangay health workers. And for the barangay officials, we also proposed measures to gradually lift their status in our society in recognition of their sacrifices,’’ they said.
The act providing for the Magna of Barangay Health Workers hopes to declare it as a policy of the state to “protect and promote the right to health of people and adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development.”
The bill aims to professionalize and duly recognize BHWs as public health workers, thus making them entitled to receive special risk allowances, standard compensation rates, insurance coverage, training opportunities, incentives and other benefits funded by the state.
Lacson said he and Sotto proposed the measure to acknowledge the contributions of healthcare personnel serving at the barangay level, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which put them highly at risk of getting infected themselves. ‘’What they (BHWs) do is they are risking their lives, even their families’ welfare, but without receiving incentives or motivation from the national government,’’ he pointed out.
He added that he plans to fund this program through budget reforms that are focused on improving revenue collections for the government by eradicating corrupt practices leading to billions of wasted or misappropriated financial resources.
The Partido Reporma chairman earlier announced a similar move to gradually increase the salaries of government nurses and public school teachers as well on the same level as the salary grades of the police, military and other uniformed services personnel.
The Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers bill remains pending at the committee level in the Senate. It has been referred to the Committees on Health and Demography, Local Government, and Finance for deliberation.