MANILA - Senator Raffy Tulfo on Monday said he fully support measures seeking to regularize the terms of village officials, including barangay tanods and barangay health workers.

In a committee hearing, he said this is to ensure that they are given fixed salaries and benefits for their service.

“Ang mga barangay health worker at mga barangay tanod, halos wala po silang sweldo. Umaasa lang sa allowance na ilaan sa kanila. Wala pa yatang P500, na hindi po kayang bumuhay ng pamilya, despite the fact na sila ang may pinakamahirap na trabaho,” said Tulfo during a joint hearing of several Senate committees on bills providing additional benefits to village officials.

Barangay workers should also be given security of tenure, he said.

“Kapag halimbawa, may bagong chairman na pumasok o bagong mayor, pwedeng palayasin yan o si barangay health worker. They’re at the mercy of the sitting barangay chairman or mayor. Dapat mahinto na yan, dapat ma-regular na sila,” he added.

Senator JV Ejercito, who presided over the hearing, echoed calls to give village officials just compensation. However, he also acknowledged the problem of limited funds.

According to the initial estimate of the Department of Finance (DOF), the government would need more than P196 billion a year to cover the regularization of village officials.

“It will be nice to give them these benefits. They are our foot soldiers after all. Kaya lang, we have to balance kung kaya natin given the reality that yung fiscal space natin is still very limited… We will find solutions,” said Ejercito.

During the hearing, Liga ng Mga Barangay National President Eden Chua-Pineda also sought insurance and retirement benefits for both elected and appointed village officials.

“Kasi po dini-disallow ng COA (Commission on Audit). There’s no legal basis daw for us to give money to GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) para po sa pension,” said Chua-Pineda.

Village officials are currently not covered by the GSIS as they are not "entitled to regular of fixed compensation," as explained by GSIS’ Assistant Chief Legal Counsel Atty. Lucio Yu, who was also present in the meeting.

But Yu said they are willing to work with lawmakers and other government agencies to create a retirement system for them ‘as long as the funding and budgetary requirements will be definite’.

Meanwhile, representatives from the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue thumbed down a proposal exempting village officials from paying VAT.

“We oppose this provision of tax exemption because it can diminish the revenue that the national government may otherwise collect. Second, it will be in violation of the principle of uniformity and equality in taxation,” said Atty. Edgar Reyes II of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

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