ANGELES CITY, Pampanga—At least 111 nurses assigned to the city-run Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (RLMMC) have started receiving a salary increase of P12,000, which raised their monthly pay to a range of P32,000 to P33,575.
The salary hike, which took effect in January, was the city government’s way of thanking health workers on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19. and in compliance with the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 or Republic Act 9173, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. said.
At least 19 of the nurses have regular employee status, four are casuals and 88 are on contractual service, Lazatin said in a report.
“This is really timely since we have seen how our health workers have been sacrificing their own lives,” said the mayor.
Corazon Ayson, city budget officer, said the additional pay has an appropriation of P76.850 million.
At least 42 other health workers assigned to COVID-19 wards are tested every two weeks for their protection, according to Dr. Froilan Canlas, RLMMC head. The 42 received special risk allowances, equivalent to half their monthly pay, in October 2020.
The city has 141 active COVID-19 cases aa of Tuesday (Feb. 23). At least 127 died of the disease while 1,844 were infected but recovered,