P64,000 monthly salary for gov’t nurses pushed

A House leader on Friday called for the passage of a bill granting a P64,000 starting monthly salary for government nurses.

House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan issued the statement to mark the International Nurses Day, saying that House Bill 5276, which seeks to increase the salary of government nurses, is an urgent matter.

He said the P64,000 monthly basic salary means the lowest base pay of nurses employed in public health institutions would be bumped up by six notches to Salary Grade 21 as provided under Salary Standardization Law of 2019

"We have to provide our nurses working in public health institutions with competitive salaries and benefits so as to entice them to continue their service to the Filipino people," Libanan said.

He cited the heroism of Filipino nurses and other health professionals serving on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have to improve the compensation and benefits of public physicians, nurses, medical technologists, midwives, and other health professionals if we want to discourage them from leaving for greener pastures abroad,” Libanan added.

House Bill 5276 is authored by Quezon City Representative Marvin Rillo, who said in his explanatory note the huge number of nurses migrating to other countries that offers more benefits and privileges to their profession poses a threat to the Philippine healthcare industry.

"Global health has evolved not only due to the emergence of new diseases but also because of the interconnected and interdependent world. To provide solution on the deplete on our skilled nurses, we must provide a competitive salary and benefit for them to enjoy and consider," Rillo said.

"Recognizing that policy is an essential part of the ecosystem of health sciences, this representation hereby earnestly sought the passage of this bill to attain the mandate of the duly constituted laws," he added.—Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News