MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced Saturday that families of barangay watchmen and health workers are now qualified to avail of social amelioration program (SAP).
DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that Rolando Bautista, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) chief, signed a memorandum on Friday approving the recommendation of DILG to include barangay tanods and barangay health workers in the national government’s financial subsidy scheme.
“Thank you to DSWD secretary Bautista for approving the recommendation of the DILG and for listening to the appeal of our village workers for them to be also given financial aid given to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Malaya in Filipino.
He added that a part in the letter read “it is the appeal of this department that the nature of appointment of barangay health workers and barangay tanods should not outrightly disqualify them from being included in the target beneficiaries under the SAP, particularly the emergency subsidy program.”
Barangay watchmen and health workers are not regular employees and merely receive allowances at rates dependent on the financial capacity of the community.
Malaya pointed out that these village workers are sub-minimum wage earners and most of them are heads of their respective families.
“Most of our tanod and health workers are heads of their family and they only receive more or less P1,000 as allowance from the barangay,” said Malaya. “Since they are below the poverty line, they should be included among those to be given SAP, subject to the proper screening of the DSWD.”
Malaya added that barangay workers, who make up the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team, are also frontliners against COVID-19 and should get recognition from the government.
“The tanods implement the quarantine in the community, it is just right that they be given financial assistance since they are there in the frontlines together with our police, firemen, LGUs, and medical professionals,” he said.