President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. assured the country's nurses that his administration would pursue programs promoting their welfare and development.

Marcos said this as he graced the 100th Anniversary of the Philippine Nurses Association at the Manila Hotel on Thursday, September 1.

In his speech, the President hailed nurses for their contributions and sacrifices that allowed the Philippines to overcome the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Because of you — and this I cannot stress more — because of you and the sacrifices that you made knowing that there was a risk involved but because of that sacrifice, because of that compassion, because of that professionalism, our nation has survived the most difficult moments of this pandemic," he said.

"We know what you have done. We know the value of your work. And this is something that we know not only because of our personal experiences, but because of the experiences of everybody around the world," he added.

With this, Marcos assured nurses that the government would continue to pursue programs and support the continuous development of Filipino nurses so they can even be more effective in their jobs. He also vowed that his office would remain open to hear their concerns.

"The government recognizes and acknowledges your hard work and sacrifice, including risking your own health and lives to care for others. As your President, you may rest assured that my office is always open for meaningful dialogue to address the issues concerning our nurses and allied healthcare professionals," he said.

"Certainly, we will not stop with just providing programs that improve your capacity as nurses. We will continue to provide you with the benefits that you deserve as healthcare workers," he added.

One of these programs is the Nursing Certification Program which strengthens and certifies the nurses' competencies in various specialty areas.

Marcos also mentioned the government's Primary Care Workers' Certification Program, which provides eligibility requirements, standard competencies, training mechanisms, and certification processes that ensure competent and quality staffing for our healthcare system.

According to the President, the government supports the leadership development courses for public health nurses, which aims to capacitate nurses to provide quality health services and become skilled leaders and managers.

"The government also offers the in-service post-graduate scholarship program to continually enhance our nurses' competencies through formal education," Marcos said.

"There is also the e-learning program which provides access to free continuing professional development, accredited courses in many, many disciplines of study," he added.