OCT.

28, 2013

NR # 3270

Monthly allowance for barangay tanods pushed

Barangay tanods will get P1,000 monthly allowance in a bill recognizing their role in assisting the Philippine National Police (PNP) in crime prevention within their respective barangays. Reps. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City) and Maximo Rodriguez, Jr. (Party-list, Abante Mindanao) said House Bill 2447 would encourage the tanods to be more vigilant and enthusiastic in their duties to aid them at deterring crime. They can be utilized as sources of intelligence for the PNP by forwarding any and all information on suspicious persons and activities in their respective barangays, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez cited as an example the recent bombing that happened in his province, which he said, could have possibly be prevented if the barangay tanods were utilized properly in intelligence gathering. In filing the bill, Rodriguez referred to Section 393 of the Local Government Code, which mandates that barangay officials, including barangay tanods, shall receive honoraria, allowances and such other emoluments, as, may be authorized by law or ordinance. Under the measure, every barangay unit shall be entitled to enlist the services of a maximum of 10 barangay tanods whose names and dates of service shall be properly recorded and forwarded to the city/municipal authorities by the barangay secretary or the barangay chairman, for monitoring purposes. The amount of allowance provided should be separate from any other form of remuneration that the barangay tanods might receive from their respective cities/municipalities. The bill provides that the funds covering the amount of allowance shall be released to the barangays, which shall create a Trust Fund for this purpose. Furthermore, the barangay shall effect the payment to the barangay tanods in a manner similar to the payment of wages of other barangay officials. Under the bill, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is mandated to issue rules and regulations necessary for the proper implementation of the proposed act, in consultation with the Liga ng mga Barangay. (30) lvc