The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) vehemently
declares the decision of the Bicameral Conference
yesterday afternoon (June 1, 2009 at 3:00 pm) held in
Tanada Room of Senate as an "ACT OF INJUSTICE" and
"INHUMANE TREATMENT" TO FILIPINO NURSES. In the
Salary Standardization Law III that was approved in the
said Bicameral Conference, the entry salary of one nurse
in the government has been pegged to Salary Grade 11
which in numerical terms means additional Php6,000
spread in 4 years. "This is an act of injustice to
Filipino Nurses", according to Dr. Teresita
Irigo-Barcelo, the PNA National President. She further
elaborated that in the last seven (7) years, the
government deprived the Filipino Nurses of their right to
Salary Grade 15 entry level salary mandated in the
Nursing Law (Republic Act 9173). Thus, the decision of
the Bicameral Conference literally "killed" the said
law, denying Filipino Nurses' right to humane salaries.
The government remained deaf to the cry of our own nurses
for a living wage. At the midst of global crisis and
emerging health crisis such as the H1N1 pandemic issue,
Filipino nurses delivered services to the best of their
ability to save thousands of lives. But these nurses are
also human beings with basic needs for survival. How can
they serve more efficiently if they, too, are dying of
hunger and are not able to access health services
themselves because of starving salaries? How can the
government respond to the prevailing health crisis if its
poor citizens cannot access health services because
thousands of Filipino nurses are leaving the country?
The Bicameral decision unmasked the government's apathy
to the plight of our poor Filipino people who have no
access to quality health services. With the disapproval
of SG 15, thousands more nurses will leave the country
aggravating the inaccessibility of poor people to health
services. Filipino nurses must affirm its stand against
all forms of injustice that denies the basic right of
Filipino people to quality life!
Teresita I. Barcelo, PhD, RN
National President
June 3, 2009
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