The Association of Government Employees for a New and Dynamic Angeles City (AGENDA) has expressed full support for House Bill No. 4357, the “Local Government Employees’ Hazard Pay Act,” filed by Pampanga First District Representative Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr.
Filed on September 4, the bill seeks to grant hazard pay equivalent to at least 25% of the employee’s basic monthly salary to all local government employees whose duties involve inherent risk or danger to health and safety—regardless of employment status.
“Cong. Pogi has always been a champion of employees’ rights and benefits, and this measure will truly help LGU workers, especially those whose jobs put their lives at risk,” AGENDA President Flordeliza Santos said.
Under the proposed law, LGU personnel may qualify for hazard pay if their duties expose them to physical, chemical, biological, or environmental hazards, as well as situations that directly threaten life or safety.
Lazatin stressed that many government employees—such as traffic enforcers, public cemetery workers, and street sweepers—faced grave risks during the pandemic but were not covered by the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers.
“This bill ensures a fair and equitable distribution of hazard pay for all government employees exposed to extraordinary risks,” Lazatin said.
As Angeles City Mayor in 2020, Lazatin issued memoranda authorizing hazard pay for essential workers in frontline services, a move he now seeks to institutionalize nationwide through legislation.
