As he emphasized the significance of Filipino nurses in country’s primary health care system, Senator Dick Gordon stressed that nurses, both in government and in private health institutions, should be compensated fairly based on what is mandated by law.
“We are not producing nurses just to send them abroad. We want them to stay and take care of our people and so, we need to give them the salary that they deserve and what has been authorized by the law,” Gordon said.
The veteran legislator strongly supports the Supreme Court’s recent decision to endorse Section 32 of Republic Act 9173 or The Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 which states that the minimum base pay for nurses working in government hospitals and health institutions should start at salary grade 15 or P31,545 per month.
“Our nurses are overworked but underpaid.”
“Our nurses are overworked but underpaid. I hope our government will directly act on this by immediately implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling pertaining to their salary,” the seasoned lawmaker said.
Last July, the senator also filed a bill amending Republic Act No. 9173 or The Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 that proposes a new comprehensive policy for Filipino nurses that will give them opportunities to advance themselves in the nursing field while they serve the country’s growing needs for healthcare professionals.
According to the bill, “Once nurses graduate and become licensed, they should have the option to be hired by the government at a just pay and dispatched to places in the country where they are needed the most.”
Gordon has been emphasizing the need for healthcare workers in the country especially in the countryside. Based on statistics, six out of 10 Filipinos die without ever seeing a health care professional.
“If the nurses will get fair compensations, they will no longer be forced to leave the country and work abroad.”
Gordon said that if nurses get fair compensation, “they will no longer be forced to leave the country and work abroad”, while the unemployment and contractualization problems in the nursing profession will likewise be addressed.
According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), there are already 92,277 nurses who had left the country since 2012. This makes the Philippines the highest exporter of nurses worldwide.
“We need to keep our nurses because they are so important to public health. They are at the forefront. Let us not make them second class citizens,” he concluded.