Tanods, Lupons get additional honoraria

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council has approved the additional P2,000 monthly honorarium for the barangay tanods and P1,000 for lupon tagapamayapa members in the city’s 80 barangays.

The additional honoraria will be received by all the tanods and lupon members effective immediately.

Councilor Eduardo Rama, Jr., who proposed the giving of additional honoraria, said it would cost the city government P46,847,040 for the tanods annually while P15,569,100 for the lupon members.

“By the very nature of their work, they expose themselves to danger of physical harm by fighting threats to the safety and security of the barangay,” Rama said.

Rama said most of the tanods and lupons are receiving a minimal amount especially in the mountain barangays.

Tanods from Barangays Paril and Mabini are only receiving P150 a month as well as the lupons in Barangays Adlaon, Agsungot, Babag, Bacayan, Bonbon, Budlaan, Buot-Taop, Cambinocot, Capitol Site, Guba, Lorega San Miguel, Lusaran, Mabini, Pahina-San Nicolas, Pamutan, Paril, Pulangbato, San Antonio, San Jose, Sirao, Sudlon I, Sudlon II, Tagba-o, Taptap and Tinago.

Rama said a lupon member plays an important role in promoting peace and harmony in the barangay by avoiding a number of cases to land in courts because of their effective mediation procedures.

“They also deserve additional honoraria,” Rama said.

Meanwhile, Reynaldo Almonte, a tanod of Apas, will receive P10,000 cash incentive for his exemplary act of suppressing lawlessness by responding to a shooting incident.

Almonte, 36, was at a nearby waiting shed last year when a motorcycle driver alerted him about a shooting incident and pointed to the culprit who boarded the public utility jeepney.

Even if he was unarmed, Almonte chased the armed suspect and arrested him. — (FREEMAN)