THE Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading Senate Bill (SB) 1905 or the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), which seeks to institutionalize their roles and provide them with incentives and benefits.
SB 1905, sponsored by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, was passed with a vote of 20-0 during plenary session.
The bill will provide BHWs a monthly volunteer benefit of P3,000, financial support for transportation, hazard allowance, cash gift, loyalty incentive, insurance, free legal aid, and psychosocial and mental health services.
It will also provide for the registration, certification, training, and continued learning of BHWs, along with paths for further education, scholarship, civil service eligibility, plantilla positions, and recognition of their years of service for retirement benefits.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, hailed the approval of the measure as a well-deserved recognition of BHWs who are often the first touchpoint of Filipinos to health care in their communities.
"The Magna Carta for Barangay Health Workers that we have passed will put an end to the lack of support and benefits for our frontline health workers in the barangay," she said.
"Just because BHWs are volunteers does not mean we should not recognize and reward their hard work and sacrifices in safeguarding the health of our fellow Filipinos. In fact, we should take care of them as well, so they can continue providing even better care to the members of their communities," she said.
Hontiveros said that local government units (LGUs) will not be left alone in providing the necessary financial support to provide benefits to BHWs.
She thanked her colleagues, including the 13 other co-authors of the bill and the chairmen and members of the Senate Committees on Finance, Local Government, and Ways and Means, for joining her in supporting BHWs and voting for the passage of their Magna Carta.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo, co-author of SB 1905, said the measure would not only strengthen protection for health workers but also improve access to health care in barangay.
"For several years, my office received complaints that job security remains a problem among barangay health workers, especially because of local politics and changes in leadership. Health workers deserve stability, dignity, and protection. A health worker's job should not depend on the barangay chairman or on political loyalty," Tulfo said.
"The best way to make health care more accessible is to strengthen the people who bring healthcare closest to our communities — our barangay health workers," he added.
Sen. Joel Villanueva, co-author and co-sponsor of the measure, said this long-overdue legislation will finally give the BHWs the recognition, protection, and support that they have long deserved.
"Our barangay health workers are the quiet heroes of our health care system. They are the first to knock on people's doors. They are the first to respond when a pregnant woman needs guidance, a child needs to be vaccinated, or a family requires basic health services. Even in the most remote barangay, they are there — tireless, uncomplaining, and all too often lacking the support they deserve," Villanueva said.
"By strengthening their training, providing better benefits, and recognizing the vital role they play, we also reinforce the foundation of our Universal Health Care system and bring quality health care services closer to every Filipino," he said.
Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said the measure is a long overdue recognition for the country's frontliners at the community level.
Pangilinan said barangay health workers have long served as the first line of care for Filipino families, especially in underserved communities, yet many continue to receive little compensation and limited government support despite the critical role they play.
Pangilinan has authored Senate Bill 729, which was consolidated together with other measures to create SB 1905.
Under the bill, the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will review and adjust the volunteer benefit every three years.
The DBM, together with the Civil Service Commission, the DOH, and LGUs, will also establish the position classification for BHWs and the corresponding salary grades to eventually transition the compensation of BHWs from honorariums to regular salaries, in recognition of their essential role in delivering primary health care services.
The measure also mandates insurance coverage and free legal services, as well as education, career advancement, and educational programs for BHWs.
