A group of nurses has called on the government to give the country's healthcare workers better working conditions and salary.
In a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 12, the Filipino Nurses United (FNU) said “the conditions of Filipino nurses have not improved.”
“The Philippine government must give our frontliners the compensation and care they deserve,” the group said.
“We will not be appeased by mere flattery and statements; we will not be cowed by misplaced admonishments by out-of-touch officials; nor will we be deceived by convoluted explanations and proposals,” the group added.
The FNU also expressed dismay at the proposed budget of the Department of Health (DOH) for next year.
“The Department of Health’s utter disregard for nurses’ rights and welfare in their proposal for the 2022 budget is alarming. Of the P5.024 trillion National Expenditure Program, the highest in Philippine history, only a measly P242 billion will go to health,” the group said.
“Of this, a whopping third, or P79.9 billion, will go to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, an institution notorious for delayed services and anomalous transactions. But not even a single peso allotted for health workers’ benefits,” it added.