ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Senate bill seeks to enhance benefits, working conditions of sanitation inspectors

Senate bill seeks to enhance benefits, working conditions of sanitation inspectors

Published Jan 29, 2026 09:18 am

At A Glance

  • Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson has filed a bill seeking to positively augment and improve the benefits and working conditions of the Department of Health's (DOH) "foot soldiers."


A bill seeking to positively augment and improve the benefits and working conditions of the Department of Health’s (DOH) “foot soldiers” has been filed in the Senate.

Senate Bill No. 1725, “An Act Modifying the Salary Grade Schedule and Enhancing the Benefits of Sanitation Inspectors, is now pending legislative deliberation, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.

"This bill aims to professionalize the health and sanitary-related services rendered by sanitation inspectors by requiring the registration and accreditation of the sanitation inspectors to ensure the healthcare and welfare of the community," Lacson said.

The bill also intends to augment and improve the basic monetary compensation of sanitation inspectors by modifying the salary grade schedule for all registered sanitation inspectors nationwide and correlating the existing position titles of SIs to the next higher salary grade."

Lacson noted SIs have the duty to enter any premises involved in manufacture, preparation or packing of any food for sale.

But a 2021 joint press statement of the DOH, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) showed the 2,700 sanitation inspectors in the country were unevenly distributed, with 68 percent of cities in the country having fewer SIs than required.

The standard ratio is one SI for every 20,000 population, he noted.

“Despite all the health hazards that a sanitary inspector encounters in the fulfillment of his/her duties, a Sanitary Inspector I only receives a monthly salary of P18,255.00,” the senator lamented.

Under SB No. 1725, all SIs shall be registered with the local health boards of the provinces, cities or towns where they serve. The SI Registry shall be subject to approval by the city and town health boards.

The provincial SI registry shall be publicized in the provincial, city and town bulletin boards, including barangay health centers.

Registered SIs must be duly accredited by the city or town health board. SIs must complete a regular training program on environmental health sanitation within five years from registration.

The bill also proposes granting hazard allowance of at least P1,000 a month to all accredited and registered SIs, including a subsistence allowance of at least P200 a day, a laundry allowance of at least P500 a month, if the Sis are required to wear prescribed uniforms legally, and transportation allowance of at least P1,000 a month.

A one-time gratuity cash incentive of at least P10,000 for those who satisfactorily served for at least 10 years is also mandated under the bill.

The measure also calls for discount privileges for Sis, including 20 percent discount, on items enumerated under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, where the commercial establishment may claim the discount as tax deduction.

Moreover, the bill also provides education and career enrichment for accredited and registered SIs.

Related Tags

Ping Lacson Senate DOH sanitation inspectors
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.