TWO councilors of the 19th Davao City Council are urging the City Government to consider granting hazard pay to some frontliners working on the city's coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic response.
Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte, on Tuesday, July 21, passed a resolution requesting the local government, through the Local Finance Committee, to include barangay health workers (BHWs) in granting hazard pay.
The Council passed a resolution in April this year, requesting all appropriate government agencies to ensure all medical frontliners will be given additional pay in responding to the pandemic.
Despite the passed resolution, which was taken from the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte in March through the Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, Villafuerte said BHWs have not received their hazard pay.
The councilor said all personnel who "physically report to work during the implementation" of the community quarantine, as stated by the President, are entitled to a hazard pay.
"However, up to present time, our barangay health workers who are also frontliners have not received their hazard pay," Villafuerte said during the Council's regular session.
Prior to passing the resolution to the City Council, the City Local Health Board unanimously moved through a resolution seeking the granting of hazard pay to BHWs.
Villafuerte, who is the committee chairperson on health, said BHWs "are the frontliners in the city's general public health mechanism as well as its Covid-19 response."
"Thus, exposed to situations, conditions, or factors in the work environment or place where foreseeable but unavoidable danger or risks exist which adversely endanger his health or life," she said.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the councilor said Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio had also expressed her desire to standardize all benefits and incentives given to BHWs.
According to her, the city has an estimated 1,200 city-paid BHWs. She said this is less than the ideal number of health workers that city's population would require.
Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr., who filed a similar resolution in April this year, also reiterated his call to enact an ordinance granting Covid-19 hazard pay to barangay frontline personnel and barangay volunteer workers during the community quarantine.
Mahipus said the city should include all barangay volunteer workers including the barangay health workers (BHW), barangay volunteer workers (BVW), barangay nutrition scholars (BNS), barangay tanod, day care teachers, and all purok leaders to receive P500 per day "when they physically report for work risking the possibility of being infected" as they do the food packing for relief goods.
Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, committee chairperson on finance, ways, and means and appropriations, meanwhile, in a radio interview on Thursday, July 23, said the city already allocated budget for the frontliners.
Dayanghirang said the proposed measure filed by his fellow councilors can be given to them, but he said due to the short collection of the city brought about the closure of some establishments due to the community quarantine, can only be given as a "one-time payment," but not monthly.
But he said the mayor already tasked the executive department to scout and calculate for additional funding.
"Medyo kulang gyud [ang atong kwarta], maong gina-adjust pa ug compute, pero dili gyud sila ma-zerohan (We have funding constraints but it is being addressed)," Dayanghirang said in an interview via 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.