Want higher pay? Join the police force, Duterte tells nurses

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday night encouraged nurses to enter the police force if they would want to get higher pay.

“Enter the police force. The salary is higher. If you remain a nurse outside, you only get about eight, nine, ten [thousand pesos,” Duterte said in a taped speech.

Last month, government nurses got their pay hike after a delay of  18 years as the Department of Budget and Management issued Budget Circular No. 2020-4, which finally implemented Section 32 of the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, giving nurses a minimum monthly base pay of Salary Grade (SG) 15 — or P32,053 to P34,801 in state-run health institutions.

During a meeting with Cabinet members in Malacan1ang, Duterte approved the plea of health care workers plea to reimpose strict lockdown measures in Metro Manila to give them time to recuperate from exhaustion due to the continuous surge of COVID-19 cases nationwide, which had already breached the 100,000 mark.

According to Palace spokesperson Harry Roque, Duterte also approved the hiring of additional health care workers to augment the current workforce, including the hiring of 10,000 medical professionals for enlistment and active duty in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“Health care workers would also be provided additional benefits, such as risk allowance for private sector healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients,  the amount of 10 to 15,000 pesos for every healthcare worker that gets sick, life insurance, free accommodation, free transportation, free and frequent testing,” Roque added.

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