Marcos fails to answer healthcare woes in 2nd SONA
Filipino Nurses United (FNU) secretary general, Jocelyn Santos-Andamo, says that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not address the serious problems of healthcare workers in his latest state of the nation address (SONA). Marcos mentioned helping unlicensed nurses acquire licenses while ignoring the almost 30,000 who are licensed and who had just passed this year's board exam. There was no mention of mass hiring or addressing the 'livable wage' for nurses.
VIDEO AND INTERVIEW BY EZRAH RAYA
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Filipino Nurses United (FNU) secretary general, Jocelyn Santos-Andamo, says that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not address the serious problems of healthcare workers in his latest state of the nation address (SONA). Marcos mentioned helping unlicensed nurses acquire licenses while ignoring the almost 30,000 who are licensed and who had just passed this year's board exam. There was no mention of mass hiring or addressing the 'livable wage' for nurses.
VIDEO AND INTERVIEW BY EZRAH RAYA
Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe
Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net
Follow us:
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I'm Ezra Raya reporting on the hottest issues and the biggest stories. This is the Manila Times.
00:06 President Bombong Marcos has just concluded his second State of the Nation Address
00:11 by counting on his wings and progress. The president vowed to improve tax and revenue
00:16 collection efforts, interconnectivity of mass transport systems, and for Maharlika Investment
00:22 Fund to be invested in Philippine economy, among others. He mentioned helping nursing graduates to
00:28 get licenses to address the country's shortage in healthcare workers, which was short in addressing
00:35 the real problem at its root. Joining us is Filipino Nurses United Secretary General Jocelyn
00:42 Santos-Andamo. Welcome to the Manila Times, ma'am. Ma'am, what was your reaction to the
00:48 president's second State of the Nation Address for the health workers? We noticed that the president
00:56 did not mention anything about the increase of salaries of nurses. There was no mention about
01:03 the problem of contractualization among the nursing students. And there was no mention about
01:10 the possible massive hiring or mass hiring of public health nurses in order to improve the
01:20 public health services. So it's quite frustrating for us Filipino Nurses United because
01:27 we would like to know the specific plan, concrete steps in order to improve the
01:34 nurses' work conditions, like what he said last year.
01:44 So we've heard that the health emergency allowance should be given.
01:55 In expect, namin, sana, ay yung concrete steps to ensure that these allowances, which have been
02:03 delayed for so long, will really be given to the health workers and nurses, especially those
02:12 in the local government units and in the private sector.
02:16 Ma'am, he did mention the release of the COVID-19 health emergency allowance for the health workers
02:25 as well as helping nursing graduates to get their licenses. So that could also mean that he's not
02:33 for hiring unlicensed nurses. So ma'am, what do you think is the lack that the President did not
02:44 mention in his zone?
02:46 Because in our opinion, we should prioritize hiring registered nurses because the task of the government
03:01 is to assist those who didn't pass the nurse licensure exam.
03:07 Kasi sa FNU, ang tanong namin, bakit kailangan unahin ang mga hindi nakapasa ng licensure exam
03:17 while mayroong mga mas maraming nakapasa. Like those who take yung May 2023 atsaka yung November,
03:29 so around 30,000 of them. Yung mga hindi nakapasa na 4,000 or another, siguro mga 10,000 ang total.
03:39 Mas maraming nga ang nakapasa. So dapat ito ang hanapin, siguruhin na sila ay na-include kesa
03:47 unahin mo na bigyan ng review classes yung mga hindi nakapasa. Okay naman yun pero sa tingin kasi
03:56 ng FNU, urgent ang problema na kailangan masolusyonan agad. So sa amin, sa immediate, kailangan
04:06 mataasan ang sahod ng maraming nurses. Majority kasi ay hindi pa rin nakakatanggap ng living wage
04:13 kaya ang aming recommendation ay yung 50,000 entry salary for all nurses, private and government.
04:22 Nabanggit niya kasi last Sona na yung pagpapantayin niya ang sahod ng nasa privado at nasa gobyernong
04:34 sektor ng nurses. Pero walang steps towards that. Wala kami nakita ng hackbang ng government para
04:40 siguruhin na ang nasa private sector ay makatanggap ng mas mataas na sahod. Ayan malaki ang pagpupunang
04:49 yan. And then nabanggit niya last Sona na i-improve niya ang work conditions ng mga health workers.
04:56 Pero hindi yan nangyayari. At sa reality, on the ground, kami nakikita namin na lalong lumala
05:04 ang understaffing kasi walang nagdagdag ng mga staff. Samantalang nagdagdag ng maraming buildings
05:10 ang mga DOH hospitals. May mga ward na binuksan, may mga bagong equipment pero walang dagdag
05:17 ng nurses. At yan ay kinokwento, very recent kinokwento ng aming mga members. Pero sabi nila
05:24 ang mga ibang nurses na hindi nga matagal na, experience na, walang planong umalis, lalo tuloy
05:32 nag-iisip na umalis ng bansa dahil sa sobrang pagod nila. Ang work hours ng nurses ay more than
05:39 8 hours, may 12 hours, may 16 hours. Wala silang pahinga and then the next day duty na naman sila.
05:47 So hindi lang sa hanay ng nurses ang understaffed. Pati yung utility workers atsaka mga nursing aid
05:54 ay kulang. Ang sabi nga nila pag sinabi mong understaffed, yung trabaho ng 5 tao ay ginagawa
06:01 ng 2 tao na lang. Kung sa nurses, sa limbawa sa emergency room, ang patients nila sa PGHI umaabot
06:10 ng 90, ang staff nurse nila ay 3 lang. So dapat sa emergency room, 1 is to 6. O kaya sa OR,
06:18 dapat 1 is to 1. Ang nangyayari, inbis na 2 nurses sila, nagiging 1 na lang. Yun ang dapat aksyonan
06:26 ng government. At yung pag-train natin or pagbibigay ng review classes, it would take some
06:33 time. Maaari ito ay pangmatagalan pa din yun. Kasi yung registered nurses na unemployed,
06:41 nandiyan na. Unahin natin silang ma-employ. Yun naman mga contractual, kailangan i-absorb
06:47 ng government, hindi yung tine-terminate. Because very ironic, while kailangan natin
06:54 ng nurses, pero hindi naman nararamdaman ng nurses. Pinapahalagahan sila. Hindi totoong walang
07:00 nag-apply ng registered nurses. Nandyan silang nag-apply pero hindi sila nahihire agad.
07:08 Napakaseryoso pala ng problema natin sa healthcare workers, mama. Katulad po
07:13 ng sinabi niyo, over 90 patients, tatlong nurse lang po ang humahawak. At sinabi niyo
07:19 rin po may mga pangako ang pangulo mula sa kanyang SONA noong nakaraang taon na hindi pa
07:24 nasasagot hanggang ngayon. At pati po yung kanilang gagawin ngayon na yung pagtulong nila
07:30 sa mga unlicensed nurses, katulad po na sinabi niyo, marami tayong licensed nurses.
07:35 Over 30,000 po ba ang nakapasa this year alone?
07:39 Very recent ay yung pumasa ng May 2023 at saka November 2022 pa lang yun, aabot na ng more
07:48 than 29,000. Ibig sabihin pwede na silang mamaximize. Yun ang unahin natin kesa yung
07:56 mga hindi nakapasa na siguro bibilang yan ng 10,000 pero meron tayong around 30,000.
08:05 Yun ang malaki ang maitutulong sa atin kesa pagre-reviewing pa natin, mga hindi nakapasa,
08:12 eto na nga ang mga nakapasa na naghihintay na ma-employ. At mas mahihikayat silang mag-apply
08:18 as nurses sa ating mga hospital kung ibigay natin ang nakabubuhay na sahod at siguruhin
08:24 na may security of tenure. Kasi sinasabi ng mga nurses, paano kami mag-apply kung ang
08:31 baba-baba ng sahod pagkatapos walang kasiguruhan sa trabaho after 1 month or 3 months wala na
08:38 kaming trabaho mag-apply ba kami dyan? Samantalang meron nang ga-alloc sa amin ng mas magandang
08:43 opportunity, manaking sahod, maraming benefits, at mas magandang buhay sa abroad.
08:50 Ma'am, base po sa sinabi niyo, doon sa nabanggit na ating Pangulo sa kanyang SONA, pangalawang SONA, mali po pala yung kanyang solusyon sa pagtulong sa mga unlicensed nurses gayong napakarami nating licensed nurses over 29,000 po.
09:08 So ma'am, sa tingin niyo po ba ano po ang dapat gawin ng gobyerno ngayon para masolusyonan yung shortage sa healthcare workers?
09:17 Sa tingin namin, ibigay kuano yung nararapat para sa mga nolucensed yung nakabubuhay na sahod, may security of tenure, sapat na beneficyo, at magdagdag ng sapat na staff.
09:31 Kasi madaling magsabi na magdadagdag tayo ng mga specialty centers, yung mga regional centers.
09:42 Ito ay mga structures lang kung saka-sakali. Kasi sa ngayon pa lang, kulang na ang mga staff.
09:48 Saan na naman kukunin ang ilalagay doon sa mga regional centers at specialty centers kung hindi natin mahihikayat ang mga nurses-in-supply.
09:58 Ang sinasabi rin ng FNU, sana hindi tayo magbaba ng standards sa ating healthcare. Kailangan siguruhin natin na mag-maintain tayo ng standards.
10:11 At siyempre dapat pa nga, mas magtaas tayo ng standards ng healthcare natin. Hindi natin i-compromise yung safety ng ating mga pasyente.
10:21 Thank you so much for that Mama. Katulad po nang sinabi niyo, we should challenge ourselves and the government to comply with higher health standards and not to lower them. Maraming salamat po.
10:32 Filipino Nurses United Secretary General Jocelyn Santos-Andamo. Thank you for your time.
10:38 Thank you for joining us.
10:40 Thank you for joining us.
10:42 Thank you for joining us.
10:44 Thank you for joining us.
10:46 Thank you for joining us.
10:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]