PGIN to hire 100 more nurses

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

LAOAG CITY—The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) is set to hire more registered nurses to help in its health care program as well as in response to providing more job opportunities to a growing number of unemployed nursing graduates.

Now on its second batch of hiring, the “Sagip Nurse Program” of the provincial government under the administration of Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos has started initial interviews to interested applicants.

According to Nicole Rudio, Provincial Employment Services Office head, she said applicants will also undergo examination and final interview prior to their deployment by early 2015 in various district hospitals and rural villages in Ilocos Norte for a period of six months.

Next to the “Sagip Maestra” program launched earlier by the previous administration to hire additional teachers, the “Sagip Nurse” program has helped new registered nurses to help serve their own province and earn experience until such time that they are able to find a better job here or abroad.

Earlier this year, the Ilocos Norte government started to hire at least 100 registered nurses for the first the batch of the program with a minimum pay of P5,000 monthly. Some were also trained in call centers for immediate hiring.

Based on record of the Professional Regulation Commission, there are about 300,000 nurses in the country who are unemployed next to teachers as the largest group of professionals.

The country’s large oversupply of nurses has contributed not only to unemployment among their ranks but also to the downward pressure on their wages.

Under the Republic Act 9173 or the so-called nursing law of 2002, the floor pay of public nurses is pegged at Salary Grade 15 or a monthly rate of at least P22, 688. That pay grade though is rarely followed by government hospitals because they simply do not have the money.

Even the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is paying their nurses only about P15, 000 monthly. Private sector nurses are just as underpaid.

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