BARANGAY HEALTH WORKERS PUSH FOR FAIR PAY AND BENEFITS GAIN MOMENTUM -- CAYETANO

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has renewed calls to formally recognize and protect Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) as the Senate advances the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers or Senate Bill No. 1905, a measure aimed at ensuring fair wages, benefits, and employment security for community-based health frontliners.

As a co-author of the bill, Cayetano stressed that the long-standing system of relying on volunteers with minimal allowances is no longer sustainable, given the expanding responsibilities of BHWs in the country’s primary healthcare system. The proposed measure requires local government units (LGUs) to engage BHWs as job order, contractual, casual, or regular employees to guarantee standardized compensation and benefits.

Under the bill, the Department of Health will determine the appropriate BHW-to-population ratio, while the DOH, together with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, will provide institutional and financial support to LGUs through a Special BHW Assistance Program.

Cayetano also pointed to Taguig City as a working model, noting that BHWs there are already employed in a formal capacity and receive salaries, bonuses, hazard pay, and continuous training.

“It’s time we properly recognize and fairly compensate our Barangay Health Workers—they are the backbone of our primary healthcare system,” Cayetano said, urging fellow lawmakers to fast-track the bill’s passage.