Cebu province raises starting salary of nurses in public hospitals

Nurses in Cebu province’s public hospitals are expected to receive higher starting salaries after the provincial board passed an ordinance upgrading and modifying their salary grades. 

The ordinance, approved on final reading on Monday, October 5, raises to P32,053 (Salary Grade 15) from P22,316 (Salary Grade 11) the entry-level wages received by nurses in the province’s 12 district, 4 provincial hospitals, the Cebu Provincial Health Office, and the Cebu Detention and Rehabilitation Center. 

This is pursuant to Budget Circular No. 2020-04 issued by the Department of Budget and Management on July 17.

“Even before the pandemic, nurses were considered essential and vital in patient and hospital care…. Nurses are literally the lifeblood of any healthcare institution,” said Provincial Board Member Glenn Soco, the author of the ordinance and chairman of the committee on budget and appropriations.

Provincial Budget Officer Emme Gingoyon clarified that this upgrade does not extend to outsourced nurses. The ordinance only covers regular, casual or contractual, full-time or part-time nurses directly hired by the province. 

In September 2019, Cebu province began outsourcing medical and clerical personnel from a private agency. In previous interviews, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia justified this move as a way to save public funds since outsourced personnel are not covered by the Salary Standardization Law. 

According to Provincial Health Officer Chrisitina Giango, there are 176 occupied Nurse 1 positions in the province. Of this, 58 are directly employed by the province and are eligible for the wage hike, while 118 are outsourced from LSERV Corporation. – Rappler.com