(MANILA BULLETIN)

Quezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo still finds worrisome the high number of Filipino nurses who took the United States (US) licensure examination in 2024.

According to the majority congressman, 28,258 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates from the Philippines took the exam for the first time last year, mostl likely in their search for higher pay in their profession. 

“The number of Philippine-educated nurses seeking to practice their profession in America remains very high, mainly on account of insufficient pay here at home,” Rillo, vice chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education, said in a statement Sunday, Jan. 26.

“We are effectively pushing our nurses away due to low pay here at home,” he said.

Rillo estimates that 54 percent of BSN graduates from the Philippines who take the US licensure examination pass it on their first attempt, while 36 percent of repeat test-takers make the grade.

Citing data from the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc., Rillo said a total of 5,869 nursing graduates from India also took their first US licensure examination in 2024, along with 3,740 graduates from Kenya, 2,662 graduates from Nepal, and 2,636 graduates from South Korea.

Rillo has championed the welfare of Filipino nurses. He is the author of House Bill (HB) No. 5276, which seeks to boost the basic monthly pay of entry-level government nurses by 74 percent, or to P70,013 (Salary Grade 21).

These nurses currently receive a basic pay of P40,208 (Salary Grade 15).

In the Senate, Senator Raffy Tulfo has also been advocating for the passage of his Senate Bill (SB) No. 2694, which seeks to increase the basic pay of entry-level public nurses by 40 percent, or to P56,390 (Salary Grade 19).

Both bills seek to amend the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.

“Higher pay is still the best strategy for us to retain some of our nurses in the local health sector,” Rillo said.

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