How much is the price of upholding the rights of nurses in the country? For some, it costs nothing.

Nurses are at the frontline of the health care delivery system. They become the first and last health workers in contact with patients and their families. As such, nurses are exposed to low- and high-risk hazards during their working hours. Exposure to these hazards could result in discomfort, illness, and even death. It is imperative, therefore, to provide additional compensation to nurses performing their jobs in hazardous work areas.

Through Republic Act No. 7305 or the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers, the State recognizes the need to provide extra compensation to nurses for performing duties that expose them to potential health hazards. However, recent reports slap us with the reality that some nurses in the country receive little to no hazard pay.

We aspire for fair and adequate hazard pay for nurses in the Philippines. Fair in the sense that all nurses are well-compensated considering the health risks associated with the nature of their work. Adequate in the sense that it follows the rates set forth by the law. Fair and adequate hazard pay ensures the protection of nurses who relentlessly offer their lives to the service of the people. Fair and adequate hazard pay puts premium on the lives of both the health care workers and the patients they serve.

While we recognize the financial limitations being experienced by many local and provincial government units, this should not restrain the government from exercising its lawful duty to protect health workers from the dangers associated with the delivery of health care.

I call on the Department of Health (DOH) to look at the undocumented issues surrounding the non-payment of hazard pay experienced by nurses in various parts of the country. Moreover, I call on the local and provincial government units to (1) review its annual budgetary allocation and bring back health at the top of its priorities and, (2) ensure that nurses are compensated hazard allowances equivalent to the appropriate percentages as specified by the law. Finally, I call on Congress, DOH and the Department of Budget and Management to revisit the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers, specifically the provisions on salaries, hazard pay, and other forms of allowances.