ESSENTIAL workers who help keep Davao City clean are poised to receive stronger health and safety protections after the 21st Davao City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance establishing concrete and institutional support for the city’s waste workforce.
Authored by Councilor Temujin B. Ocampo, Chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, the proposed “Davao City Waste Workers’ Magna Carta” aims to strengthen protection for both formal and informal sanitary workers.
In his privilege speech on August 25, 2026, Ocampo stressed that the measure seeks to ensure that workers responsible for waste management are properly protected, supported, and empowered.
“We are the cleanest and greenest city in the country, even second in Southeast Asia, and we need to maintain that Davao City is a premier, sustainable, and a green modern metropolis. That is why the more we should take care of the very workers who keep it clean,” he said.
Under the proposed ordinance, waste workers would receive free biannual distribution of standard safety gear, annual health check-ups, and mandatory vaccinations against tetanus, Hepatitis B, typhoid, and other necessary diseases.
City-employed sanitary personnel would also be entitled to a minimum 10 percent monthly hazard allowance, while informal sanitary workers would be assisted in securing social protection coverage through programs such as PhilHealth or SSS.
The measure would likewise reserve a voting seat for an accredited sanitary worker representative on the Davao City Ecological Solid Waste Management Board, allowing workers to directly participate in the development of policies affecting their sector.
Ocampo said the proposed ordinance reflects the city’s commitment to recognize the value of sanitary workers’ labor, protect their welfare, and acknowledge them as key partners in building a cleaner and more sustainable Davao City.
“Passing this ordinance is not merely a policy decision, it is a moral obligation. It sends a strong and clear message that in Davao City, labor is honored, frontline workers are protected, and no one is left behind,” he added. CIO
