WITH the enactment of the Bayanihan 2 Act, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has started hiring 50,000 contact tracers to boost the government's capability to reduce transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Republic Act 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), allotted funds for the hiring of contact tracers.
The new contract tracers will be assigned to the various contact tracing teams (CTTs) of the local government units led by municipal/city health officers with members from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTS), and volunteers from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
Roughly one in five contact tracers, or 19.2 percent, will be assigned to the National Capital Region (NCR), which remains a Covid-19 hotspot.
Applicants must have a bachelor's degree of an allied medical course or criminology course.
They must also be skilled in data gathering and have assisted in research and documentation, able to interview Covid-19 cases and close contacts in order to gather data, possess the ability to advocate public health education messages, and have the investigative capability.
"It is crucial that a candidate must be willing to do research and investigation because that is the very essence of the job. Iyon ang hinahanap natin, isang tao na magsasaliksik ng mga posibleng kaso ng Covid sa komunidad," said DILG Secretary Eduardo Año.
Applicants are required to submit a letter of intent, personal data sheet, National Bureau of Investigation clearance, and drug test results. Applications may be submitted to all DILG provincial and city field offices nationwide or visit their websites for the posting of vacancies.
Año said contractual personnel whose employment were not renewed, overseas Filipino workers whose employment were disrupted, and local employees whose services have been recently terminated due to the pandemic will be given priority in the hiring process if qualified.
Contact tracers will earn a minimum of P18,784 per month with a contract of service status. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/VoxPop Philippines)