MANILA – Sanitation inspectors, the frontline personnel of the Department of Health (DOH) who help safeguard public health at the community level, may soon receive enhanced benefits and improved working conditions under a bill filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson.

Lacson on Wednesday filed Senate Bill 1725, which seeks to professionalize and upgrade the compensation of sanitation inspectors by modifying their salary grade schedule and establishing measures for registration, accreditation, and ongoing training.

“This bill aims to professionalize the health and sanitary-related services rendered by sanitation inspectors by requiring the registration and accreditation of the sanitation inspectors to ensure the healthcare and welfare of the community,” Lacson said in his measure titled “An Act Modifying the Salary Grade Schedule and Enhancing the Benefits of Sanitation Inspectors, Protecting their General Working Conditions, and Appropriating Funds Therefor.”

Under the bill, all sanitation inspectors must be registered with their respective provincial, city, or municipal health boards and accredited by the local health board. Registered inspectors are required to complete regular training programs on environmental health and sanitation within five years from registration.

The bill also seeks to provide sanitation inspectors with monetary benefits, including:

• Hazard allowance of at least ₱1,000 per month
• Subsistence allowance of at least ₱200 per day
• Laundry allowance of at least ₱500 per month if required to wear prescribed uniforms
• Transportation allowance of at least ₱1,000 per month
• One-time gratuity of at least ₱10,000 for those serving satisfactorily for 10 years
• Discount privileges under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010

Lacson said sanitation inspectors will also be entitled to health benefits, including free medical care, annual medical examinations, emergency assistance of up to ₱10,000, and mandatory membership in PhilHealth. Other benefits include GSIS coverage, sick and maternity leave, disability benefits, housing, longevity pay, free legal services, and preferential access to loans.

The bill ensures occupational safety and health standards, grievance mechanisms for unjust treatment, protection against discrimination, and freedom from coercion. It also allows inspectors to organize into groups or associations and participate in local health boards, water councils, social development councils, and disaster risk reduction management councils, while prohibiting partisan political activity.

Violations of the bill’s provisions carry penalties ranging from ₱50,000 to ₱500,000, imprisonment from one to five years, or both. Implementation will be funded through the National Tax Allotment of local government units, other local funds, the special health fund under the Universal Health Care Act, and the General Appropriations Act following the law’s enactment.

Lacson noted that sanitation inspectors are currently unevenly distributed across the country, with 68 percent of cities having fewer inspectors than required, and that a Sanitary Inspector I currently earns only ₱18,255 per month despite the hazards of the work. The bill aims to address these gaps and ensure inspectors are adequately compensated and protected.