BARANGAY tanods in Cebu City will receive a P1,000 monthly honorarium increase starting January 2026, following the Cebu City Council’s approval of a new ordinance.
The measure, authored by Acting Vice Mayor Winston Pepito, raises the tanods’ subsidy from P6,000 to P7,000, bringing it closer to those of other community-level workers such as barangay health workers (BHW) and nutrition scholars.
“Our barangay tanods play a vital role in maintaining peace and order in our communities. This increase is a recognition of their continued service and dedication,” Pepito said.
The ordinance also institutionalizes the standardized financial assistance for other barangay-appointed workers.
Under Section 1 of the ordinance, standardized amounts of financial assistance are now institutionalized for barangay-appointed workers in Cebu City.
The following barangay workers will receive these standardized amounts: Gender and Development Focal (P8,000); Nutrition Scholar (P9,000); Health Worker (P7,500); Garbage Collector/Loader (P6,000); Environmental Officer (P6,000); Lupong Tagapamayapa (P6,000); and Tanod (P7,000).
The financial assistance will be included in the City’s annual budget beginning 2026 and every year thereafter, under an account to be determined by the City Budget Office.
The ordinance also includes a separability clause ensuring that unaffected provisions of the ordinance will remain valid if any part is declared unconstitutional.
In August 2024, Cebu City Health Department BHW coordinator Altea Racuya-Lim called for a P2,500 increase in the BHWs’ monthly stipend, citing their 24/7 workload and difficult conditions, especially in mountain barangays.
But then-acting mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia expressed caution about the City’s financial capacity to sustain such increases, noting that similar appeals would likely follow from other barangay personnel — including tanods and loaders.
With the Ordinance now approved, the barangay tanods are the first group among community-level workers to officially receive an increase in honorarium beginning next year.
This measure marks Pepito’s first approved ordinance since assuming the role on Oct. 9, when Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña left for medical treatment in the United States.
Pepito earlier said his priorities include the modernization of city services, increase in the tanods’ honoraria, and the passage of a fair and balanced budget. / CAV