(NI DANG SAMSON-GARCIA)

IGINIIT ni Senador Richard Gordon na dapat tiyakin ng gobyerno na maiaangat ang kalidad ng mga Filipino nurse, nasa gobyerno man o pribadong institusyon.

Mangyayari anya ito kung mabibigyan ng nararapat na kompensasyon ang mga nurse.

“We are not producing nurses just to send them abroad. We want them to stay and take care of our people and so, we need to give them the salary that they deserve and what has been authorized by the law,” saad ni Gordon.

Dahil dito, suportado ni Gordon ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema na nag-eendorso sa Section 32 ng Republic Act 9173 o The Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 na nagsasaad na ang minimum base pay ng nurses sa government hospitals at health institutions ay dapat magsimula sa salary grade 15 o P31,545 kada buwan.

“Our nurses are overworked but underpaid. I hope our government will directly act on this  by  immediately implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling pertaining to their salary,” diin ni Gordon.

Una nang naghain si Gordon ng panukala na nag-aamyenda sa Republic Act No. 9173 o The Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 para sa bagong comprehensive policy sa Filipino nurses na magbibigay ng oportunidad sa kanila upang palakasin nag kanilang mga kakayahan sa nursing field.

“Once nurses graduate and become licensed, they should have the option to be hired by the government at a just pay and dispatched to places in the country where they are needed the most,” diin nito.

Mahalaga anya ang papel ng healthcare workers sa bansa lalo pa’t lumalabas na anim sa bawat 10 Pinoy ang namamatay nang hindi nakikita ng health care professional.

“We need to keep our nurses because they are so important to public health. They are at the forefront. Let us not make them second class citizens,” diin ni Gordon.