NAGA CITY-Daet Mayor Tito Sarion said the proposal of opposition Sen. Francis 'Chiz' Escudero to give regular salary instead of honorarium to a barangay official is impractical.
"It would drain the resources of either the barangay or the national government," says Sarion.
Escudero the other day called for "a fair and fixed salary for barangay officials rather than a mere honorarium based on the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) given to them by LGUs."
He said many local government units in cities have a higher IRA and are able to give a bigger honorarium to their officials compared to those in poorer towns with lower allotments.
"I favor giving barangay officials a wider scope of responsibility and authority despite their round-the-clock schedule, but they must be properly compensated by government."
He said barangay officials had low pay and irregular working hours but had been exercising a variety of duties.
"From resolving disputes among neighbors and quarrels between couples to providing health services to residents and helping accident victims, barangay officials have an unenviable task," he said
He said barangay officials were in the frontlines when it comes to the delivery of basic services but they only had been given honoraria.