CAMOTES ISLANDS, Cebu — Elizabeth Gahira has been serving as a volunteer barangay health worker in Barangay Himensulan, San Francisco in Camotes Island for more than 30 years.
Gahira, 62, in turn, receives an honorarium of P230 per month.
But Gahira, a mother of four, said she does not mind the meager compensation in the name of giving service to her neighbors.
“Wala man lang pod mi nagkuan nga gamay kay volunteer man ning amoa. Bisan og daghan pod kong trabahuonon sa balay, malipay na man lang pod mi nga magkatapok mi sa among mga kauban sa barangay,” Gahira told CDN Digital.
(We do not mind that we only receive a small honorarium because this is a volunteer work for us. Even if we have errands to run at home, we find happiness when we, barangay workers, see each other in the barangay.)
On Tuesday, January 7, 2020, Gahira is one of the 1,538 barangay workers and tanods from the Camotes Island towns of Poro, Pilar, San Francisco and Tudela, who received their 2019 cash incentives from the Capitol.
Barangay health workers, nutrition scholars, day care workers and animal health aides received P4,000 each while the tanods received P3,000.
This is higher than the previous cash incentive of P2,400 for the barangay frontline workers and P1,500 for the tanods.
Personnel from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) distributed the cash incentives at the Tudela municipal gymnasium.
As she becomes P4,000 “richer,” Gahira said she will spend the money for the needs of her youngest daughter, Joannie, who is studying Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) at the Consolacion Community College in Consolacion town.
Joannie, 21, is on her fourth year in college and is expected to graduate this March 2020.
“Maayo na lang makatabang ko niya. Malipay na lang pod ko ba nga ang akong anak maka-graduate na, duna na siyay kurso nga iyaha ug makatrabaho na unsa iyang gusto,” Gahira said.
Aside from their cash incentives, the BHWs also received their health kits and new uniforms that come with the print GWEN (Government Working for Emergency Network).
Barangay frontline workers and tanods from other parts of the province also received their cash incentives during their assembly last December 18, 2019.
The uniform for the other frontline workers, meanwhile, are yet to be distributed to the towns./rcg