Senator Manny Pacquiao (Contributed photo)
MANILA, Philippines – Amid the spike in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila and other parts of the country, presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao has called on the government to launch a crackdown on private hospitals that refuse to properly compensate their health care workers as he vowed to pursue sweeping reforms on the country’s health care system.
Pacquiao said many private hospitals and health care facilities are now understaffed or are manned by inexperienced personnel because of poor management and unfair labor practices.
“ Itong ating mga medical frontliners ang pinakamahalagang sektor sa gitna ng patuloy na problema natin dahil sa COVID-19. Kailangan natin silang pangalagaan upang hindi sila mawalan ng ganang pagsilbihan ang ating mga kababayan. We are losing a lot of good doctors, nurses and other medical professionals because they are not properly compensated,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao said the Department of Health (DoH), the Department of Labor Employment (DOLE), and the Department of Justice (DoJ) should work together to check on the welfare of medical frontliners in the private sector.
He said the management of private hospitals and other medical facilities, including those providing diagnostic tests who continuously refuse to provide their workers with their rightful compensation as provided by law should be prosecuted.
PhilHealth blues
Pacquiao stressed, however, that the government should also address the complaints of many private hospitals in relation to the sluggish processing of their claims from Philhealth.
He said that private hospitals are already under a lot of financial distress because many of their patients rely on Philhealth to cover expenses for their treatment.
“Kahit maraming pasyente itong ating mga hospital, nalulugi pa rin sila dahil ang tagal namang magbayad sa kanila ang Philhealth. Paano naman sila makakabayad ng maayos sa kanilang mga empleyado kung wala naman silang nakokolekta?” Pacquiao said.
P50,000 minimum pay for nurses
Pacquiao said that if elected as president, he would work for an across-the-board increase on the minimum wage of health care professionals.
He said that Filipino nurses should have at least a minimum salary of P50,000 a month, on top of other compensation such as hazard pay and overtime.
“ This amount is still very small as other countries offer a range of P120,000 to as much as P500,000 per month. But at least this is better than the P19,000 per month minimum wage that we pay our nurses. This pandemic has caused a massive demand for healthcare professionals and other countries are paying a premium just to get their services,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao said that the Philippine government should also put a premium on the services of the country’s medical professionals because “they are now the most important labor force amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Their compensation should be competitive to international rates to encourage them to stay in the country and serve our people. This could even encourage Filipino health care workers who are already working abroad to return home and work here in the Philippines,” Pacquiao said.