BONTOC, Mountain Province – Early childhood care and development workers, barangay peacekeeping action teams (BPAT), barangay tanod, and members of the Katarungang Barangay (lupon) in this capital town are guaranteed the financial assistance they are receiving from the local government despite the expected change in administration.
Authored by Councilor Alsannyster Patingan, the Sangguniang Bayan approved ordinances 345 and 346, s. 2021 institutionalizing the financial assistance to day care workers, BPAT, barangay tanod, and lupon.
The LGU has been providing financial assistance for the day care workers who are not under the plantilla positions of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office.
The financial aid was never formally integrated as a regular program of the LGU and with that the provision of financial assistance depends on the next administration to either continue or end the program.
There are four day care workers under the plantilla position of the MSWDO while 25 are receiving honoraria from the LGU and barangay counterpart.
With the ordinance, each day care worker is entitled to financial assistance of P3,700 per month, over and above all aids, grants, and incentives given to them by the barangay.
The mayor is authorized to increase, but not to decrease the financial assistance through an executive order without going through the process of amending the ordinance.
The punong barangay shall formally seek the conformity of the mayor if he/she intends to appoint any additional day care worker in his/her barangay. Lack of conformity or failure to seek such conformity shall not nullify the appointment made, only that the appointee shall not be included in the program but will still receive other benefits except for the financial assistance.
According to Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Araceli Shane Bayanos, the day care workers started to receive a P3,700 each from the LGU in 2019. In the past years, they received P3,200 each.
For school year 2021-2022, there are 427 day care children enrolled in 29 child development centers (CDCs) in the municipality.
Meanwhile, an annual financial assistance of P25,000 shall be received by every barangay for tanods and BPATs and P20,000 annual financial assistance to every barangay for the lupon.
The ordinance authorizes to the mayor to increase, but not to decrease the financial assistance should the need arise through an executive order without going through the process of amending the ordinance. – Alpine K. Malwagay
May 4, 2024
