President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. pushed for the passage of the Magna Carta for Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), saying its implementation would greatly uplift their condition after their sacrifices during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Marcos said this as he recognized the contributions of the country's health workers during his meeting with officials of the Barangay Health and Wellness (BHW) Partylist in a private meeting in Malacañang on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
In his speech, the President said the country's BHWs played a significant role at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, providing services, conducting house-to-house visits, and deciding who among the population had to be sent to hospitals and isolation facilities.
He added that BHWs are a vital source of information for the national government in its policy decisions due to their presence at the grassroots level.
"Para naman magkaroon kami ng magandang decision sa national level ay kailangan pa rin namin ng tulong ng BHW (We need the help of BHWs to make good decisions at the national level),” President Marcos said.
"I do not know how the government will function without the barangay health workers, without the lupon, without the daycare center workers, lahat ng volunteer workers natin (all our volunteer workers)," he added.
With these, Marcos said he was elated when the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) informed him that the Magna Carta for Barangay Health Workers is one of the House bills under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) approved on the third reading at the House of Representatives.
Following initial discussions, President Marcos said his government made sure that the Magna Carta for BHW became a priority measure. He expects no opposition to the bill because of the importance of health workers' work.
“I hope that the passage of the Magna Carta bill will be the beginning of tuloy-tuloy na aming maibibigay na makabawi naman kami, makabawi naman kami sa inyong trabaho, sa inyong volunteer work at (us giving back after your hard work and volunteer work and) to recognize the importance of the work of the barangay health workers,” he said.
"We cannot do this without you. Please keep up the good work. And the government and, most importantly, our people are counting on you," he added.