Republic Act No.

7883
February 20, 1995

S. No. 994
H. No. 14325

Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila

Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fifth

day of July, nineteen hundred and ninety-four.

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7883]

AN ACT GRANTING BENEFITS AND INCENTIVES TO ACCREDITED

BARANGAY HEALTH WORKERS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title.- This Act shall be known as the Barangay

Health Workers Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995.

SEC. 2. Statement of Policy. The State shall protect and promote

the right to health of the people and to provide conditions for health
empowerment, where each individual has access to information and
services that will bring about health and well-being. The Primary
Health Care Approach is recognized as the major strategy towards
health empowerment, emphasizing the need to provide accessible
and acceptable health services through participatory strategies such
as health education training of barangay health workers, community
building and organizing Towards this end, this Act shall provide
incentives to communities and act as frontliners in the Primary
Health Care Approach.

The government and all its instrumentalities shall also recognize the
rights of barangay health workers to organize themselves; to
strengthen and systematize their services for their community; and
to make a venue for sharing their experiences and for
recommending policies and guidelines for the promotion,
maintenance and advancement of their activities and services.

SEC. 3. Definition. The term barangay health worker refers to a

person who has undergone training programs under any accredited
government and non-government organization and who voluntarily
renders primary health care services in the community after having
been accredited to function as such by the local health board in
accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the Department of
Health (DOH).

SEC. 4. Registration. In order for barangay health workers to be

entitled to benefits and incentives provided under this Act, they
shall register with the local health board in the city or municipality in
which they render service. The local health board, through the
provincial health boards in the case of municipalities, shall furnish a
copy of such registry to the DOH, which is hereby mandated to
maintain a national register of barangay health workers. The
accredited barangay health workers shall be given appropriate proof
of said accreditation.

SEC. 5. Number of Barangay Health Workers. The DOH shall

determine the ideal ratio of barangay health workers to the number
of households: Provided, That the total number of barangay health
workers nationwide shall not exceed one percent (1%) of the total
population.

SEC. 6. Incentives and Benefits. In recognition of their services, all

accredited barangay health workers who are actively and regularly
performing their duties shall be entitled to the following incentives
and benefits:

a) Hazard Allowance Volunteer barangay health workers in rural

and urban areas, exposed to situations, conditions, or factors in the
work environment or place where foreseeable but unavoidable
danger or risks exist which adversely endanger his health or life
and/or increase the risk of producing adverse effect on his person in
the exercise of his duties, to be validated by the proper authorities,
shall be entitled to hazard allowance in an amount to be determined
by the local health board and the local peace and order council of
the local government unit concerned.

b) Subsistence Allowance Barangay health workers who render

service within the premises of isolated barangay health stations in
order to make their services available at any and all times, shall be
entitled to subsistence allowance equivalent to the meals they take
in the course of their duty, which shall be computed in accordance
with prevailing circumstances as determined by the local
government unit concerned.

c) Training, Education and Career Enrichment Programs The DOH,

in accordance with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports
and other concerned government agencies and non-government
organizations, shall provide opportunities for the following:

1) educational programs which shall recognize years of primary

health care service as credits to higher education in institutions with
stepladder curricula that will entitle barangay health workers to
upgrade their skills and knowledge for community work or to pursue
further training as midwives, pharmacists, nurses or doctors;

2) continuing education, study and exposure tours training, grants,

field immersion, scholarships, etc.;

3) scholarship benefits in the form of tuition fees in state colleges, to

be granted to one child of every barangay health worker who will
not be able to take advantage of the above programs; and

4) special training programs such as those on traditional medicine,

disaster preparedness and other programs that address emergent
community health problems and issues.

d) Civil Service Eligibility. A second grade eligibility shall be

granted to barangay health workers who have rendered five (5)
years continuous service as such: Provided, That should the
barangay health worker become a regular employee of the
government, the total number of years served as barangay health
worker shall be credited to his/her service in computing retirement
benefits.
e) Free Legal Services Legal representation and consultation
services for barangay health workers shall be immediately provided
by the Public Attorneys Office in cases of coercion, interference, and
in other civil and criminal cases filed by or against barangay health
workers arising out of or in connection with the performance of their
duties as such.

f) Preferential Access to Loans The DOH in coordination with other

concerned government agencies shall provide, within one hundred
eighty (180) days after the effectivity of this Act, a mechanism for
access to loan services by organized barangay health workers. The
agencies providing loan services will set aside one percent (1%) of
their loanable funds for organized barangay health worker groups
that have community-based income generating projects in support
of health programs or activities.

SEC. 7. Review by the Local Health Board. Every incentive or

benefit for barangay health workers requiring the expenditure of
local funds shall be reviewed and approved by the local health board
to ensure that only the deserving barangay health workers get the
same.

SEC. 8. Rules and Regulations. The Department of Health, in

cooperation with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports,
the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the
Department of Justice, the Civil Service Commission and other
concerned government agencies and non-government organizations,
shall formulate, within one hundred eighty (180) days from its
effectivity, the rules and regulations necessary to implement this
Act.

SEC. 9. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared

invalid, the remainder or any provision hereof not affected thereby
shall remain in force and effect.

SEC. 10. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders and
other presidential issuances which are inconsistent with this Act are
hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
SEC. 11. Effectivity This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) JOSE DE VENECIA, JR.

Speaker of the House
of Representatives

This Act which originated in the Senate was finally passed by the
Senate and the House of Representatives on February 15, 1995 and
February 13, 1995, respectively.

(Sgd.) CAMILO L. SABIO

Secretary General
House of Representatives

Approved: FEB 20 1995

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS

President of the Philippines

Grounds

Disciplinary actions for elective local officials are found in sec. 60 to 68 of

the Local government Code (RA 7160.) The grounds for
discipline, suspension or removal from office for local elective officials are
listed below. If proven, the proper court may order the official's removal:

1.) Disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines

2.) Culpable violation of the Constitution
3.) Dishonesty, oppression, misconduct in office, gross negligence or
dereliction of duty
4.) Commission of any offense involving moral turpitude or an offense
punishable by at least prision mayor
5.) Abuse of authority
6.) Unauthorized absence for 15 consecutive days (except in case of
members of the sanggunians)
7.) Application for/acquisition of foreign citizenship, residence or
immigrant status in another country
8.) Other grounds provided for in the Local Government Code and other
laws

If the complaint is filed with the courts, then we have to follow court
procedure. Elective officials with a Salary Grade of 27 and above will be
tried by the Sandiganbayan. Below that, the regular courts come into
play.

Below is the administrative procedure of disciplining local elective

officials. The rule on exhaustion of remedies, the question of whether we
go straight to the courts or follow administrative process, is applicable
here.

Administrative Complaints

A.) Form and Notice

A verified complaint must be filed against the elective local official in

question and must be filed with the following government offices:

1.) The Office of the President: for elective officials of a province or city
(whether highly urbanized, independent component or component)
2.) The sangguniang panlalawigan: for the officials of a municipality
(appealable to the president)
3.) The city or municipal sanggunian: for elective barangay officials (the
decision becomes final and executory)

Within 7 days from the filing of the complaint, the president

or sanggunian concerned will order the official in question to submit a
verified answer within 15 days from receipt of the order. Investigation will
begin within 10 days after receiving the answer of the official in question.
Take note of "verified." No verification means that the complaint will be
junked.

If the official in question is of a province or highly urbanized city, the

hearing and investigation will be done in the place where he holds office.
Other elective officials will be heard and investigated in
the sanggunian concerned.

An investigation can't be held within 90 days before any local election;

the same holds true for a preventive suspension. If preventive
suspension has been imposed before the 90-day period before the local
election, it will automatically be lifted when the 90-day period starts. This
is because the courts have recognized the electorate's power to forgive
and condone an erring official through the local elections (Salalima vs.
Guingona, 257 SCRA 55) but this forgiveness can't apply to criminal acts.

B.) Preventive Suspension

Preventive suspension may be imposed by the following:

1.) The president: if the official in question belongs to a province or a

highly urbanized or independent component city
2.) The governor: if the official in question belongs to a component city or
municipality
3.) The mayor: if it's a barangay official

Preventive suspension can be imposed at any time after the issues in the
complaint are joined and the evidence of guilt is strong; taking into
consideration also the gravity of the offense and the possibility that the
official in question could influence witnesses or pose a threat to the
integrity of the investigation's records and evidence. Preventive
suspension lasts for a maximum of 60 days, but if several complaints are
filed against the same official he can't be suspended for more than 90
days in a single year for the same ground/s existing at the time of the
first suspension.

After the suspension period expires, the official is automatically reinstated

but the investigation will continue. The investigation lasts for a maximum
of 120 days, beginning from the time the official in question was formally
notified of the case against him. If he causes delays in the investigation
through request, fault or neglect (but not appeal) the period of delay
won't be included in the 120-day period.
Abuses in the power of preventive suspension are to be treated as an
abuse of authority.

The official in question won't receive his salary or compensation while the
suspension is in effect, but if exonerated and reinstated he'll be paid his
salary and other emoluments including the ones that accrued during his
suspension. Indefinite preventive suspension is not allowed (Layno vs.
Sandiganbayan, 136 SCRA 536.)

The 120-day period mentioned above is divided into 2 parts: a maximum

of 90 days investigation proper and a maximum of 30 days period after
the end of the investigation within which a decision is to be rendered. If
found guilty and the penalty is suspension, the suspension term can't last
longer than 6 months for every administrative offense. If an elected
official has been punished with suspension, he can still run for office as
long as he's still qualified. This won't be the case if he's removed from
office. If removal is the appropriate penalty, that official will be barred
from running for any elective office.

C.) Appeals

Appeals are to be made within 30 days from receipt of the decision. In

case the decision is made by a municipal or component city sanggunian,
an appeal is to be made to the provincial sanggunian. If the decision in
question comes from the provincial, highly urbanized or independent
component city sanggunian, appeals are to be made to the president.

Appeals will not prevent a decision from becoming final and executory.
While on appeal, the official in question will be treated as being
preventively suspended.

Format and Style

a) All pleadings, motions and similar papers intended for the court and quasi-judicial
bodys consideration and action (court-bound papers) shall written in single space
with one-and-a half space between paragraphs, using an easily readable font style
of the partys choice, of 14-size font, and on a 13 inch by 8.5- inch white bond
paper; and
b) All decisions, resolutions and orders issued by courts and quasi-judicial bodies
under the administrative supervision of the Supreme Court shall comply with these
requirements. Similarly covered are the reports submitted to the courts and
transcripts of stenographic notes.

Margins and Prints

The parties shall maintain the following margins on all court-bound papers: a left
hand margin of 1.5 inches from the edge; an upper margin of 1.2 inches from the
edge; a right hand margin of 1.0 inch from the edge; and a lower margin of 1.0 inch
from the edge.

Every page must be consecutively numbered.