Retirees, nurses need gov’t support

Over the weekend, I was quite surprised to read about the President’s veto of the bill to increase nurse’s monthly salary and the bill seeking to increase Social Security System’s retirees pension fund. I have often backed many of the programs set forth by Daang Matuwid, but in this aspect I am firmly opposed. We need to learn how to take better care of those who take care of us or things will never truly improve in the country.

I do understand several of the roadblocks that would make these bills difficult to approve. But at the same time I see the desperate need for this to happen. We can’t just keep things at status quo while inflation continues to raise the cost of all the basic necessities. Why are we so surprised that our nurses keep leaving to go abroad or that our senior citizens can barely take care of themselves? It all comes down to equality and sustainability in the country.

First of all, let’s look at the nurses. No one can deny all the hard work these amazing individuals do. I have had my share of experience with nurses and I can’t overstate their importance in the healthcare system. They are the ones on the frontlines. They take care of patients, they handle the day to day, and a lot of the time they are the ones who get the most stress on both sides – patients unload on them, doctors unload on them. It’s not an easy job and I often think of them as unsung heroes.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to raise their salary or give them more of an incentive to stay in the country. The reason the President gave for vetoing the bill is that it would cause an imbalance in the healthcare/government system salary table. I can understand that, however, if they get paid so little all around then maybe salaries in the healthcare system should be looked at as a whole. After all, I don’t think it’s presumptuous to say that “health is truly wealth” and I think in the end we would all benefit from a reinvigorated and renewed health care system.

This is one of the things that I truly hope the incoming president looks at closely. Our healthcare system has needed an upgrade for years. We already failed to meet the Millennium Development Goals in terms of healthcare, if we don’t move now we’ll miss the mark on the Sustainable Development Goals too. And it’s not because we don’t have the talent or the technology. We do. I truly believe we have some of the best talent out there. The problem is we can’t nurture and sustain that talent and the consequence is they end up leaving the country.

Doctors and nurses alike often end up looking for better opportunities abroad because they can barely make a living here. That’s a hard reality for someone who has invested so much in their education, let alone specialty. If they can barely send their kids to school and maintain their monthly living expenses, what is the point of staying here? Plus, the imbalance in our healthcare system is that so many of our doctors and nurses are jam-packed in Manila when it’s really the provinces that need their services. But, how can we entice them to go work in the province when all they will be rewarded with is even less pay and benefits?

At the end of the day, I think P-Noy has a point when he says he doesn’t want to cause an imbalance in the system, however, instead of just saying no he needs to find another option. We will only continue to bleed medical talent if we can’t take care of them in our own country.

As for the SSS, I believe I mentioned this before and I am still against keeping things the way they are presently. Again, I understand the mathematics involved in the President’s reasoning. He claims he doesn’t want to bankrupt the SSS and that increasing the pension to P2,000 will cause a deficit from what is collected and what is paid out. I understand that. Perhaps increasing pension is not the way to go initially, but if they can’t increase pension then something else should be done to help offset the expenses of retirees and senior citizens.

The senior citizen discount is nice, but it is also very limited. There’s a cap on a lot of the discounts and benefits received, which would be fine if retirees could live off their pension like several of them do abroad. One could argue that retirees should have saved up their own personal retirement fund and that is true too, however most are very cautious about spending it in case of illness. The lack of quality and comprehensive healthcare for senior citizens makes it very difficult for them when it comes to savings, because one dreaded disease can easily wipe out everything saved over a lifetime.

As far as SSS goes, if raising the monthly pensions will cause a deficit and lack of funds then perhaps they can try to figure out how else they can help. After all, what can P1,200 monthly really do for senior citizens who can no longer work and earn money elsewhere? Perhaps a revamp of the system is needed. After all, a lot of SSS officers get paid ridiculous amounts of money. Why should they get over P117 million in salaries and other incentives while the SSS members can’t even get a slight increase in their minimum pension?

In the end, I know there are a lot of changes that should be made. These are really only the tip of the iceberg. I think that if the next administration is brave enough to face the challenges head on and implement solutions then some real progress can be achieved. Corruption needs to truly be halted because if we only funnel the funds we do have where they are supposed to go then I believe that we can really make a difference in the life of every Filipino.