Co-Sponsorship Speech of Senator Legarda | Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers | 25 February 2026

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues,

I rise today to sponsor the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, a measure that seeks to give long-overdue recognition, protection, and dignity to the individuals who form the most accessible arm of our public health system.

Barangay health workers are the first to knock on doors, the first to identify health risks, the first to guide mothers and children, and the first to respond to emergencies in communities where formal health facilities remain distant or limited.

According to the Department of Health’s National Barangay Health Worker Registry, there are 253,400 barangay health workers across the country as of 2024. This number speaks to the scale and indispensability of community-based health care, and it reminds us that the well-being of millions depends on the strength of this frontline workforce.

This vital workforce deserves a law that recognizes both its history and its future. It is for this reason that as early as the 14th Congress, I filed a Magna Carta for Barangay Health Workers, grounded in the belief that Universal Health Care cannot succeed without those who make health care work at the grassroots. I refiled the measure in the succeeding Congresses because the need has only grown more urgent. In every community I visit, I meet BHWs who serve out of commitment rather than compensation. They monitor pregnancies, track immunizations, care for the elderly, and mobilize whole barangays in times of disaster. Yet many continue to work without clear tenure, standardized benefits, or adequate institutional support.

This bill responds to that gap by establishing a comprehensive rights-based framework that strengthens recruitment, certification, and continuing education. It lays down fair and uniform standards for honoraria, subsistence and transportation allowances, hazard pay, insurance coverage, and year-end benefits. It provides loyalty incentives for long-serving BHWs and mandates deployment subsidies for low-income municipalities, ensuring that access to community health services does not depend on local wealth.

Through these reforms, we affirm that barangay health workers are indispensable to disease surveillance, maternal and child health, emergency response, and everyday continuity of care. Strengthening their welfare strengthens the nation.

At this point, I express my profound gratitude to our sponsor, Senator Risa Hontiveros and also thank our colleagues — Senators Migz Zubiri, JV Ejercito, Bato dela Rosa, Bong Go, Alan Peter Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Kiko Pangilinan, Jinggoy Estrada, Mark Villar, Robin Padilla, Erwin Tulfo, and Joel Villanueva—for their commitment to uplifting the foundation of primary health care.

Mr. President, this bill honors those who serve long before any doctor arrives and long after any program ends. I respectfully urge the swift passage of this measure.

Thank you, Mr. President.