Drilon seeks realignment of P1 billion in 2020 budget for nurses’ P30-K minimum pay

If the government can shell out P2 billion for a presidential jet, then it can allocate half the amount to fund the minimum base pay of entry-level nurses, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Thursday.

Drilon made the call in the aftermath of the issuance of the Supreme Court ruling that the minimum base pay for entry-level nurses provided under the Philippine Nursing Act—Salary Grade 15 or at least P30,000—is valid, but tasked Congress to fund it.

"If the government is willing to buy a P2 billion jet and if it can boldly ask Congress for a record-breaking P8.2-billion intelligence and confidential fund, I do not see any reason why we cannot fund the adjustment in the salary of our nurses," Drilon said in a statement.

He was referring to the administration's recent contract to purchase a $39.9-million Gulfstream G280 jet for President Rodrigo Duterte and senior officials' use,.

However, the P8.2 billion the Office of the President is seeking is for its budget for 2020. Of this amount, P4.5 billion has been allocated for confidential and intelligence funds—still P2 billion more than the P2.5 billion for these funds in 2019.

"We should look for ways to provide the necessary funding to implement the Philippine Nursing Act. There are excess fats in the P4.1-trillion 2020 spending outlay which we can use to augment the minimum base pay of thousands of government nurses in accordance with the Republic Act 9173 and pursuant to the ruling of the Supreme Court,” Drilon added.

Drilon estimated that implementing the Supreme Court ruling will require P1 billion to cover 7,193 Nurse 1 positions in government.

Likewise, Drilon said that the nurses’ mandated salary can also be sourced from the P63-billion Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund; the proposed budget for the 2020 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections which the Senate has proposed to postpone; and unutilized revenues from the Sin Tax Law.

"We owe it to our nurses who provide patients 24/7 health care in overcrowded government hospitals, which sometimes comes at the expense of their own health and well-being,” Drilon said. — BM, GMA News