ANGELES City Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. said some 111 nurses assigned at the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (formerly Ospital Ning Angeles or ONA) -- 19 permanent, four casual and 88 Contract of Service (COS) status -- have started receiving their P12,000 salary increase this January 2021.
All 19 permanent and four casual RLLMC nurses from Salary Grade (SG) 11 – equivalent to P22,316 – were upgraded to SG 15, with a monthly basic salary of P33,575.
Meanwhile, all 88 COS nurses receiving P20,000 basic monthly salary (SG10) were raised to SG 15, amounting to P32,000.
“This is really timely since we have seen how our health workers have been sacrificing their own lives to serve Angeleños this pandemic,” Lazatin said.
To pave way for its immediate implementation this 2021, City Budget Officer Corazon Ayson said Lazatin appropriated a total budget of P43,058,700 for the salary increase of the said 111 nurses – P9,266,700 for the 19 permanent and 4 casual, and P33,792,000 for 88 nurses.
The RLMMC currently has 30 permanent employed nurses but only 19 were qualified to receive the said salary increase since the remaining 11 are already receiving their accorded salaries, Ayson explained.
Lazatin’s Chief Adviser and Tactician IC Calaguas said this is in line with the national government’s pay adjustment, following the Department of Budget and Management’s Budget Circular 2020-4, pursuant to Section 32 of Republic Act No. 9173, or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.
“Their crucial role in the ongoing battle against Covid-19 deserves a recognition, way beyond. This is why the city government strongly pushed for the reinforcement of the said salary increase,” Calaguas added.
RLMMC Head Dr. Froilan Canlas thanked the city government for rushing the implementation of the salary increase, which is a great help for them and their families.
Canlas also said the RLMMC is diligently observing safety and health protocols, particularly the regular swabbing every two weeks of the 42 health workers assigned at the Covid-19 wards.
In November 2020, Lazatin announced the salary increase of medical health workers.
The city government had allocated P10 million for the immediate release of the Special Risk Allowance (SRA) for city health workers handling Covid-19 patients.
The health workers received their SRA last October amounting to 50 percent of their monthly salary. They are also afforded free lodging, which allows them to isolate themselves.