Senate OKs basic salary increase for nurses

MANILA, Philippines  — The Senate yesterday approved the basic salary increase for Filipino nurses, with P3.173 billion of the P4.1-trillion 2020 national budget appropriated to upgrade the salaries of Nurse I and Nurse II positions.

With this move, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said government nurses’ hope for a much-needed wage increase is one step closer to reality.

Sen. Richard Gordon lauded the Senate for “not sleeping on the job,” adding that nurses deserve the approval to properly implement Section 32 of Republic Act 9173, the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.

Under the law, the minimum base pay for nurses working in government hospitals and health institutions should start at Salary Grade 15 or P31,545 per month.

“For a long time, the nurses of the country have been clamoring for the adjustment of their salaries. They are given low-paying jobs with no benefits, and hospitals have taken advantage of this system in a way that these hospitals become stepping stones for nurses to work abroad,” Gordon said.

The senator has been very supportive of the nursing sector as he recognizes its vital role to public health and realizes the need for health care workers in the country, especially in the countryside.

Last July, Gordon filed a bill amending RA 9173, which 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 need for health care professionals.

“We’re so much closer to giving that justice not just to our nurses, but to our people in need of better health care,” said Gordon.

The Senate version of the national budget bill now includes a special provision proposed by Lacson, one of the vice chairs of the Senate contingent to the bicameral conference committee tackling the budget bill, to increase the salary grade of government nurses.

Under the new special provision titled “Increasing the Salary Grade of Government Nurses,” the base pay of government nurses shall be Salary Grade 15 (P30,531 a month), in compliance with the Supreme Court (SC)’s decision (GR 215746).

“The implementation of the salary adjustment shall take effect when the decision of the (SC) had become final and executory, but not earlier than the start of Fiscal Year 2020,” the provision read.

Lacson had also specified that the amount needed to fund the implementation of the SC decision shall be sourced from appropriations for staffing modifications and upgrading of salaries.

During his interpellation of the Department of Health’s 2020 budget last Nov. 19, Lacson noted that P3.173 billion is needed for the salary upgrade of government nurses, so they can attain Salary Grade 15.

“We can introduce a special provision and source the P3 billion from the P12.469 billion under that particular item (the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund or MPBF),” he said.

As the funds are already under the MPBF, government nurses need not wait for the passage of legislation or the availability of funds to be provided by the Department of Budget and Management, according to Lacson.

“They don’t have to wait six months or another year. By January, once we enact the GAA for 2020, their salary upgrade is taken care of,” he said.

Long overdue

Sen. Bong Go, chairman of the Senate committee on health, said the long-overdue proper compensation for government nurses is now within their reach.

“I also want to commend the committee on finance and our distinguished colleagues for taking measures that would allow us to implement the SC decision upholding the validity of Section 32 of the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, which provides that the ‘minimum base pay of nurses working in the public health institutions shall not be lower than Salary Grade 15,’” Go said.

“This is a long overdue compensation denied to them. We won’t make (Filipino nurses) wait anymore… They will have salary increase next year,” Go said.

The senator’s statement was partly in explanation of his vote during the third and final reading for the 2020 national budget.

In his speech, Go emphasized that “public health should be one of our priorities.”

“As chairman of the committee on health, I commend this chamber for approving the additional P7 billion for the Human Resources for Health Deployment Program. This is to ensure the continued employment of our health workers in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and economically disadvantaged municipalities. No one will lose his job, service is nonstop,” he said.

Teachers laud Senate decision

Meanwhile, teacher organizations have welcomed the Senate’s decision to increase by P32 billion the proposed allocation for salary increase of government workers next year.

“We thank our senators for heeding the clamor of our teachers and all employees in the public sector,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) chairperson Jocelyn Martinez said yesterday.

“This initial victory is a good start for our fight for decent salaries, but a lot of work still needs to be done,” Martinez added.

The Senate on Wednesday approved its version of the proposed P4.1-trillion budget for next year, which included an amendment that increases the budget for the fifth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) from the original P31.1 billion to P63.1 billion.

Martinez said they would monitor developments to ensure that the higher pay hike allocation would be retained in the bicameral version of the budget.

She said they would also call for a distribution scheme that gives premium to rank-and-file employees as well as continue their demand for salary increase legislation that will secure the P30,000 monthly base pay for teachers.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), however, expressed reservations even as they welcomed the higher budget for salary increase of government workers.

“While there is no policy on how to grant the salary increase, so far it is safe to assume that this salary increase will be another continuation of the SSL as what the President declared during his State of the Nation Address last July,” TDC chairman Benjo Basas said.

“The SSL, which was started during the time of president Corazon Aquino, has been criticized for its discrimination and unfair treatment to the low-level employees, including classroom teachers who comprise the bulk of government service,” he added.

Basas reiterated their demand for a P10,000-per-month across-the-board salary increase for teachers, noting the previous promise made by Duterte.