BONTOC, Mountain Province – Regular employees of the Bontoc Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) are now entitled to a hazard pay of P1,000 monthly.
Mayor Franklin Odsey approved the ordinance passed by the sangguniang bayan granting a hazard pay to the MSWDO regular employees.
Sponsored by SB member Jerome Tudlong, Jr., Ordinance 343, s. 2021 recognizes MSWDO employees are exposed to hazards when they attend to emergency operations where their lives are at risk.
Local officials acknowledged the country experienced natural calamities such as typhoons and southwest monsoon that caused flooding and render many roads impassable in many areas in the municipality. During these situations, MSWDO personnel play a vital role in addressing the needs of the affected communities through the provision of humanitarian assistance, among others.
The officials added MSWDO personnel are also at risk as they attend to emergency operations and in the discharge of their functions.
Odsey said it is high time for these personnel to receive hazard pay as they are also in the frontline in any natural or man-made disasters.
“Our personnel from the MSWDO deserve to be fairly compensated for their sacrifices, especially since they face inevitable risk while working on the ground,” the mayor added.
The allocation and payment of hazard pay for social workers are mandated under Republic Act 9433 or the Magna Carta for Social Workers while Department of Budget and Management Circular 451, s. 1996 provides that compensation premium or allowance may be provided to officials and employees, who because of the nature of their work, are exposed to hazard may be covered with hazard pay.
The SB also earlier passed Ordinance 330, s. 2021 granting a hazard pay to regular employees of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) sponsored by councilors Tudlong, Jr. and Alsannyster Patingan.
The ordinance provides affected personnel shall be entitled to receive their hazard pay starting February 2021 regardless of the date of its approval and affectivity.
It added most of the time, MDRRMO personnel stake their lives to give humanitarian assistance or save the lives of those affected by calamities.
Odsey approved the ordinance recognizing said employees are among the human resource of the municipal government who are exposed to hazardous work areas as they attend to emergency operations where their lives are placed at risk.
He added the hazard pay is equitable compensation for the services they provide and due to the environment where they are being exposed in the performance of their assigned duties and responsibilities as disaster risk reduction and management workers.
The ordinance states all regular employees of the MDRRMO shall be entitled to the prescribed hazard duty pay which shall be P1,000 per month regardless of their period of exposure. – Alpine Killa-Malwagay
April 16, 2024
