House leader does Pinoy nurses a solid on International Nurses Day
House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan announced on the occasion of International Nurses Day his backing of a bill that seeks to raise the minimum monthly base pay of government nurses from P36,619 to P63,997. The proposed 75 percent base pay increase is embodied in House Bill (HB) No. 5276. “We have to improve the compensation and benefits of public physicians, nurses, medical technologists, midwives, and other health professionals if we want to discourage them from leaving for greener pastures abroad,” Libanan said in a statement on Friday, May 12. The world marks May 12 of every year as International Nurses Day to celebrate the contributions of nurses to society. May 12 is the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the world’s first nurse and the founder of modern nursing. Under HB No.5276, the lowest base pay of nurses employed in public health institutions would be bumped up by six notches to Salary Grade 21 as prescribed under the Salary Standardization Law of 2019. Libanan expressed his desire to co-author the bill in a letter addressed to Quezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo, who first introduced the measure in September 2022. In his letter to Rillo, Libanan said: “I am in agreement with you that we have to provide our nurses working in public health institutions with competitive salary and benefits so as to entice them to continue their service to the Filipino people.” Libanan cited the heroism of Filipino nurses and other health professionals serving on the frontlines at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. A lawyer by profession, Libanan also holds a degree in medical technology.