President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday said the government would allow more nurses to be deployed abroad as he pushed for improved benefits.
Marcos graced the 100th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Nurses Association, where he acknowledged that the salary and benefits currently being received by nurses are not enough to compensate for their hard work especially during the pandemic.
He recalled how nurses assisted him as he fought his first bout with COVID-19 in March 2020, saying that he could not have survived the disease if it weren't for the right treatment given to him.
READ: Filipina Nurse Administers First COVID Vaccine in UK
"The government recognizes and acknowledges your hard work and sacrifice, including risking your own health and lives to care for others," Marcos told nurses attending the event.
"We will open more slots for the deployment of nurses abroad while striving to improve opportunities domestically," he added.
The government earlier imposed a 7,500-deployment cap for Filipino nurses who want to work. During the height of the pandemic, nurses were even banned from leaving the country to find work in other countries as local COVID-19 cases peaked.
Marcos said the government must address the uneven distribution of nurses in the different parts of the country by addressing issues related to health facilities, benefits and security of tenure.
He also backed the passage of the proposed new Philippine Nursing Practice Act, which is envisioned to provide better benefits for nurses.
"Certainly, we will not stop with just providing programs that improve your capacity as nurses. We will continue to provide you with the benefits that you deserve as healthcare workers," Marcos said.
"As we work hard to improve the state of our healthcare system at home, let us join hands to maintain our country’s position as the gold standard when it comes to providing healthcare workers to hospitals and health facilities globally," he added.
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