Ranking members of the House of Representatives are batting for higher allowances for barangay officials as well as the grant of honoraria and benefits to barangay workers and "tanods" (watchmen) in the current 19th Congress.
Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre have filed House Bill (HB) No. 2349, which seeks to increase the allowances of barangay officials, grant honoraria and other benefits to barangay workers, and give barangay tanods who have served for at least one year such compensation and benefits.
Romualdez is chairperson of the House Committee on Accounts, while Acidre is a deputy majority leader. They said their measure will help "professionalize recruitment" in local government units (LGUs).
“Under Republic Act (RA) No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, as amended, barangay officials are compensated in the form of honorarium at an amount not less than P1,000 per month for the Punong Barangay and P600 per month for each Sangguniang Barangay member, Barangay Treasurer and Barangay Secretary,” Romualdez and Acidre said.
“As the Act was enacted decades ago, such compensations are no longer in accordance with the regional minimum wage level. Further, excluded therein are barangay tanods despite the services they render to their constituents," they noted.
“This bill seeks to provide a compensation package commensurate with the work and services the barangay officials extend to their constituents and to encourage and professionalize the recruitment of barangay officials,” added the authors.
Curently pending before the House Committee on Local Government, HB 2349 seeks to amend Section 393 of the Local Government Code by increasing the minimum honoraria or allowances that could be given to barangay officials, including barangay tanods and members of Lupong Tagapamayapa.
The proposed law increases the minimum allowance of Punong Barangay from P1,000 to P3,500 per month.
The bill also proposes that the P600 allowance of Sangguniang Barangay (SB) members, barangay treasurer, secretary and tanods be increased to P2,500 per month.