Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte is prodding the Senate to act on bills calling for the institutionalization of a Magna Carta for barangay health workers (BHWs).

This, after the other legislative chamber--the House of Representatives--passed its own measure for a Magna Carta for BHWs as one of its final acts of the year.

“There are at least a dozen bills in the Senate proposing a Magna Carta for barangay health workers that still need to be reconciled and consolidated into a substitute bill," noted Duterte, a second-term House member.

"We hope the Senate would be able to prioritize the passage of its counterpart measure of the magna carta when Congress resumes session next month,” he said

The House and Senate are currently on a five-week holiday recess. The next session for both chambers will take place on Jan. 23, 2023.

A few days before the start of the recess, the House on Dec. 12 approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No.6557 or the proposed Magna Carta for BHWs.

HB 6557 retained the proposal of Duterte and other lawmakers to grant accredited BHWs a monthly honorarium of not less than P3,000 each, and transportation allowance of not less than P1,000 per month.

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“The measure unanimously approved by the House on third and final reading tasks the Department of Health (DOH) to determine the ideal ratio of BHWs to the number of households. The DOH should also ensure that the total number of BHWs nationwide should not be less than one percent of the total population or at least one BHW per 20 households. This ratio should help address the lack of primary health care services in many communities, especially in remote areas,” explained Duterte, a principal author.

The bill also included the Mindanao solon’s proposal to set the minimum hazard allowance that accredited BHWs can receive at not less than P1,000 a month, while their subsistence allowance is set at not less than P100 per day.

But for the measure to prosper and become a law, the Senate must pass its own version of the House bill.

Duterte noted that under the existing law—Republic Act (RA) 7883 or the Barangay Health Workers Benefits and Incentives Act—BHWs are already entitled to hazard allowance and subsistence allowance, but the pay they receive has no set minimum amount.