Senate eyes DOH budget hike to fund nurses' salary increase in 2020
Published Nov 20, 2019 12:00 am
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
The Senate is mulling to further increase the Department of Health's (DOH) 2020 budget to fund the proposed salary hike for government nurses starting next year.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III (2nd, left) looks at the proposed P96.3 billion budget of the Department of Health for 2020 with the assistance of Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go (3rd, left) and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (2nd, right). Also in photo are Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Panfilo Lacson. (PRIB photo by Alex Nuevaespaña/19 November 2019 / MANILA BULLETIN)
The wage hike for public nurses was raised by a number of senators Tuesday night during their deliberation of the DOH's P96.36-billion proposed budget for 2020.
The Upper Chamber's proposed DOH budget was higher than the P88.92 billion proposed by the House of Representatives for the agency.
Senator Christopher Go, sponsor of the DOH budget, said the Senate Finance Committee decided to transfer P7 billion from the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund (MPBF) to the DOH's Human Resource for Health Development Program (HRHDP) for its recruitment of more health workers.
The budget raise, however, did not include plans to upgrade the salaries of nurses in government health institutions, even as the Supreme Court (SC) already upheld last month the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, which states that the base pay of public nurses should not be lower than salary grade (SG) 15 or at least P30,000.
"While we support the increase of our government nurses, the Supreme Court has not yet been taken into consideration in this budgetary measure. The DBM and the DOH are still studying the needed appropriation to implement the decision," Go, reading his notes, said after he was asked by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. if the DOH would be able to carry out the proposed salary hike.
"Nurses are not only in the DOH, we have nurses in LGUs (local government units), CHED (Commission on Higher Education), DepEd (Department of Education) and other government agencies. We need to separate legislation," he explained, citing the High Court's ruling.
For the DOH, he noted that the proposed upgrading of salaries of 40,035 nurses 1 and 2 would require P3.17 billion every year.
The executive department, according to Go, is more inclined to prioritize the Salary Standardization Law 5, which would grant higher basic salaries to all government employees, including public school teachers and nurses. "Because we already have set aside funds for this (SSL)," he said.
But senior lawmakers said nurses need not wait for the passage of a separate law to receive higher pay.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the government has enough resources to be able to put in funds for the proposed salary hike in its spending plan for next year.
It was Recto who proposed the P7-billion augmentation of the DOH's HRHDP appropriation. Recto said he plans to introduce more realignments to the DOH outlay to increase the funds for its programs, including the Universal Health Care.
"If there are enough resources for the fiscal year of 2020 and there's a Supreme Court decision, hindi ba dapat pondohan natin ito P3.2 billion na 'to na kulang sa budget para sa ating mga nurses (shouldn't we be funding the P3.2 billion lacking in the budget for our nurses)?" Recto said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson proposed taking anew the needed funds from the remaining allocation of the MPBF.
"We can introduce a special provision and source the P3 billion from the P12.469 billion under that particular item (MPBF). Nagamit na raw rito ang P7 billion, sa DOH napunta, may naiwan pang P5 billion (P7 billion of this was already used and transferred to the DOH, so there is still P5 billion remaining)," Lacson said in his interpellation.
"At the proper time, with your permission as sponsor, I will introduce an amendment to insert a special provision to source P3.173 billion from the P5 billion remaining under that particular item if that’s okay with you," he told Go.
"So the nurses will not wait for the passage of legislation or the availability of funds to be provided by DBM because the funds are already there under MPBF. So 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," Lacson pointed out.
Revilla, for his part, proposed the release of a supplemental budget to fund the salary increase for government nurses.
Go said DOH Secretary Francisco Duque does not pose any objection to the planned increase in the basic pay of government nurses.
Under the SC-backed salary hike, the minimum basic pay of entry-level nurses will be upgraded to SG 15, from the current SG 11.
In effect, the base pay of nurses 2 shall also be adjusted from SG 15 to SG 16, which is equivalent to a P3,000-increase.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon advised the DOH to settle the possible salary distortion that this may cause, saying nurses in higher positions, who are not included in the pay raise, should also be considered.
"While you may not be required to increase the salary not covered by the decision, but if you do not grant any increase for them, you will have salary distortion that will demoralize our nurses. And you will be confronted with petitions from all of these nurses seeking the same treatment as the nurse 1 and nurse 2...It is not only the P3.1 billion that you should look into," Drilon told the DOH.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III (2nd, left) looks at the proposed P96.3 billion budget of the Department of Health for 2020 with the assistance of Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go (3rd, left) and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (2nd, right). Also in photo are Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Panfilo Lacson. (PRIB photo by Alex Nuevaespaña/19 November 2019 / MANILA BULLETIN)
The wage hike for public nurses was raised by a number of senators Tuesday night during their deliberation of the DOH's P96.36-billion proposed budget for 2020.
The Upper Chamber's proposed DOH budget was higher than the P88.92 billion proposed by the House of Representatives for the agency.
Senator Christopher Go, sponsor of the DOH budget, said the Senate Finance Committee decided to transfer P7 billion from the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund (MPBF) to the DOH's Human Resource for Health Development Program (HRHDP) for its recruitment of more health workers.
The budget raise, however, did not include plans to upgrade the salaries of nurses in government health institutions, even as the Supreme Court (SC) already upheld last month the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, which states that the base pay of public nurses should not be lower than salary grade (SG) 15 or at least P30,000.
"While we support the increase of our government nurses, the Supreme Court has not yet been taken into consideration in this budgetary measure. The DBM and the DOH are still studying the needed appropriation to implement the decision," Go, reading his notes, said after he was asked by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. if the DOH would be able to carry out the proposed salary hike.
"Nurses are not only in the DOH, we have nurses in LGUs (local government units), CHED (Commission on Higher Education), DepEd (Department of Education) and other government agencies. We need to separate legislation," he explained, citing the High Court's ruling.
For the DOH, he noted that the proposed upgrading of salaries of 40,035 nurses 1 and 2 would require P3.17 billion every year.
The executive department, according to Go, is more inclined to prioritize the Salary Standardization Law 5, which would grant higher basic salaries to all government employees, including public school teachers and nurses. "Because we already have set aside funds for this (SSL)," he said.
But senior lawmakers said nurses need not wait for the passage of a separate law to receive higher pay.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the government has enough resources to be able to put in funds for the proposed salary hike in its spending plan for next year.
It was Recto who proposed the P7-billion augmentation of the DOH's HRHDP appropriation. Recto said he plans to introduce more realignments to the DOH outlay to increase the funds for its programs, including the Universal Health Care.
"If there are enough resources for the fiscal year of 2020 and there's a Supreme Court decision, hindi ba dapat pondohan natin ito P3.2 billion na 'to na kulang sa budget para sa ating mga nurses (shouldn't we be funding the P3.2 billion lacking in the budget for our nurses)?" Recto said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson proposed taking anew the needed funds from the remaining allocation of the MPBF.
"We can introduce a special provision and source the P3 billion from the P12.469 billion under that particular item (MPBF). Nagamit na raw rito ang P7 billion, sa DOH napunta, may naiwan pang P5 billion (P7 billion of this was already used and transferred to the DOH, so there is still P5 billion remaining)," Lacson said in his interpellation.
"At the proper time, with your permission as sponsor, I will introduce an amendment to insert a special provision to source P3.173 billion from the P5 billion remaining under that particular item if that’s okay with you," he told Go.
"So the nurses will not wait for the passage of legislation or the availability of funds to be provided by DBM because the funds are already there under MPBF. So 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," Lacson pointed out.
Revilla, for his part, proposed the release of a supplemental budget to fund the salary increase for government nurses.
Go said DOH Secretary Francisco Duque does not pose any objection to the planned increase in the basic pay of government nurses.
Under the SC-backed salary hike, the minimum basic pay of entry-level nurses will be upgraded to SG 15, from the current SG 11.
In effect, the base pay of nurses 2 shall also be adjusted from SG 15 to SG 16, which is equivalent to a P3,000-increase.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon advised the DOH to settle the possible salary distortion that this may cause, saying nurses in higher positions, who are not included in the pay raise, should also be considered.
"While you may not be required to increase the salary not covered by the decision, but if you do not grant any increase for them, you will have salary distortion that will demoralize our nurses. And you will be confronted with petitions from all of these nurses seeking the same treatment as the nurse 1 and nurse 2...It is not only the P3.1 billion that you should look into," Drilon told the DOH.