Quezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Quezon City 4th distirct Rep. Marvin Rillo bared that a total 20,948 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates from the Philippines took their first United States (US) licensure test from January to September this year, in hopes of obtaining gainful employment in America.

“The number of Philippine-educated nurses seeking to practice their profession in America and other foreign labor markets remains very high, mainly on account of inadequate pay here at home,” Rillo, vice chairperson of the House committee on higher and technical education, said in a statement Sunday, Nov. 10.

Rillo has championed the welfare of Filipino nurses. He is proponent of House Bill (HB) No. 5276, which seeks to raise by 74 percent, or to P67,005 (Salary Grade 21), the basic monthly pay of entry-level nurses in government hospitals.

At present, entry-level nurses at Department of Health (DOH) hospitals receive P38,413 (Salary Grade 15) in basic monthly pay.

In the Senate, Senator Raffy Tulfo has also been batting for the passage of his Senate Bill (SB) No. 2694, which seeks to increase by 40 percent, or to P53,873 (Salary Grade 19), the basic pay of entry-level nurses in public health institutions.

Both bills seek to amend the 22-year-old Philippine Nursing Act.

“We maintain that higher pay is still the most effective way for us to improve job satisfaction and retain some of our nurses here in the local health sector,” Rillo, a rookie legislator, said.

The country is currently reeling from a growing shortage of nurses, largely due to sustained overseas migration.

The Philippines now has a shortage of 127,000 nurses--a number that is expected to increase to 250,000 by 2030, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In July 2022, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) lifted the decade-old freeze on the establishment of new nursing colleges, in a bid to stimulate the country’s production of new nurses.

Citing data from the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc., Rillo said a total of 4,456 nursing graduates from India also took their first U.S. licensure test from January to September, along with 2,665 graduates from Kenya, 2,031 graduates from Nepal, 1,882 graduates from South Korea, 683 graduates from Nigeria, and 613 graduates from Ghana.