Leaders of the National Confederation of Barangay Health Workers of the Philippines (NCBHWP) and the UNI Global Union–Philippine Liaison Council (UNI-PLC) on Friday, July 24, personally delivered a joint appeal to Malacañang, urging President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to prioritize the long-pending Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers.
Representing some 277,000 barangay health workers (BHWs) nationwide, the groups called on the President to reinstate the proposed Magna Carta as a priority measure under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), certify the bill as urgent, and reaffirm his commitment to its passage during his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The appeal, signed by UNI-PLC leaders and all 18 regional presidents of the National Confederation of Barangay Health Workers, seeks to bring the concerns of community health workers directly to the President ahead of his annual address.
Khonan Dark T. Cerial, national president of the NCBHWP and Central Visayas regional BHW president, reminded the administration of President Marcos’ 2023 commitment to support the measure.
“In 2023, the President gave renewed hope to hundreds of thousands of BHWs when he publicly committed to supporting our Magna Carta,” Cerial said.
He noted that barangay health workers have waited for more than four decades for legislation that would guarantee standardized benefits, adequate compensation, and social protection, with many workers retiring or passing away before seeing the measure enacted.
Despite serving as the frontline providers of primary healthcare services in communities, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and in routine public health programs, BHWs continue to receive limited financial support and lack standardized benefits, according to the groups.
UNI-PLC President Roland De La Cruz said the proposed Magna Carta is essential in recognizing the contributions of barangay health workers and ensuring labor protection for the country’s grassroots healthcare workforce.
“Our community health workers are the literal backbone of the primary healthcare system in every single barangay, yet they remain the most vulnerable and under-protected,” De La Cruz said.
He appealed to the administration to certify the bill as urgent, saying its passage would provide long-overdue recognition and social protection for the country’s estimated 277,000 barangay health workers.
Following the filing of their appeal at the Malacañang Records Office, the organizations expressed hope that President Marcos would publicly reaffirm his support for the measure in his upcoming SONA and work with Congress to finally enact the long-delayed Magna Carta into law.IMT
