The Department of Health will launch a nationwide probe into alleged unfair dismissal of around 80,000 barangay health workers by newly elected barangay officials.
BHW Partylist Rep. Natasha Co, who revealed the mass termination in late November, said Friday that the DoH had issued a memorandum to its regional field offices to investigate compliance with DoH-Department of the Interior and Local Government Joint Memorandum Circular 2023-001.
Section VI.D.10 of the JMC mandates the local health boards to conduct an inquiry and deliberate on and resolve disputes related to the memo.
The JMC was issued last August for the retention of BHWs and their continued role in primary health care delivery. Co lamented that despite the JMC, the mass termination transpired, calling it "unjust" and done "without due process."
"The JMC on the Retention and Continued Service of Barangay Health Workers issued last August provides for due process and steps to make sure the volunteer BHWs' services are not unjustly terminated because of local politics and animosities," she said.
Around 80,000 BHWs and counting were dismissed in various parts of the country without due process by newly elected officials right after the barangay elections, notwithstanding that they had undergone training, registration and accreditation, indicating that they had rendered service for three years.
The BHW Partylist said the dismissal severely undermined primary health care delivery in thousands of barangays.
"In fact, many of them were around 40 years, 30 years in the service but were fired without knowing the grounds," she said.
Instead of firing the BHWs, she said, it is imperative to recognize the crucial need for manpower in light of the country's constantly growing population and persistent public health threats.
"Given the shortage of BHWs, the barangays should be adding BHWs, not removing the registered and accredited BHWs on whose training and service capability upgrades the DoH has already spent billions of pesos over the years," said Co, the vice chair of House Committee on Appropriations.