Gov’t nurses may now expect nearly P40,000 monthly salary, solon says

A partylist representative said that government nurses may now expect a good salary close to P40,000 monthly which may give them second thoughts on leaving the country.

Deputy Speaker and 1PACMAN partylist Rep. Michael “Mikee” Romero revealed that based on information he received from nurses of specialty hospitals in Quezon City, their entry-level pay has been upgraded from Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 15.

“They used to get P20,754. But now, they are receiving P32,053 a month, or an increase of P11,299, excluding allowances,” Romero said.

On top of their basic salary, government nurses are also getting a hazard pay of at least P5,000 a month, plus a cost-of-living allowance of P1,500.

The salary increase was in compliance of the Supreme Court decision in October 2019 upholding the provision of Republic Act No. 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 which sets the nurses’ entry-level salary to SG 15.

Romero said the House of Representatives and the Senate gave P3.2 billion in the P4.1-trillion national budget for the nurses’ salary adjustment.

The increase is timely as government hospitals are now experiencing shortage of nurses in their stations and departments due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

“The increase in pay came at a time when the country is battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Our nurses play a vital role in attending to infected patients and preventing the spread of the virus. Increasing their benefits is the least we can do for them,” said Romero.

The lawmaker lauded the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Health (DOH) for finally increasing the salary of nurses, who, he said, have waited “for what is due them under the law for 22 long years.”

Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH has already re-deployed at least 1,285 nurses to hospitals under its Nurse Deployment Program.

Also, DBM has approved 8,494 slots for the hiring of more healthcare workers and majority of it are for nursing positions.

“We have 3,498 personnel who were hired for hospitals and quarantine facilities,” she said. (via PNA, mb.com.ph)