Job order nurses at the Cebu City Quarantine Center (CCMC extension) at the North reclamation Area in Cebu City are assured that their delayed four months salary will be released in May. CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) and Cebu City Quarantine Center (CCQC) job-order (JO) nurses are finally getting their four months delayed salary on the first week of May 2021.
This was the promise of City Administrator Floro Casas, Jr., following the clamor of 98 nurses for their salaries to be released after four months of unpaid service during the “second wave” of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the city.
Casas said the JO nurses were hired to supplement the manpower of the CCMC when the COVID-19 cases surged in the first quarter of 2021, which lasted until the first week of April 2021.
The hiring was done in haste to prevent the city’s health care system to be overwhelmed, and the budget for this hiring was taken from the disaster funds amounting to a total of P4.3 million.
“Wala naapil sa annual budget and ilang sweldo ani. Wala nato siya nabudget, kay pagtaas sa atong case pag January, nagdugang tag personnel. So sa ilahang source of funds ani moagi pa sa disaster council ug sa City Council pa pud,” said Casas.
(Their salaries were not included in the annual budget. This was not included in the budget because when the cases increased in January we added personnel. So, the source of funds would have to pass through the disaster council and the City Council.)
The process took time for the processing of the source of funds for the nurses’ salaries, which is why the release of these was delayed.
As of now the payroll is now at the City Administrator’s Office and is due for release on the first week of May 2021.
“Mangayo lang kog pasensya nga nadelay ilang sweldo. I have to admit nga naay delay kay naa man gud tay process nga gisunod. Karon nga naa na silay budget, mong paningkamotan nga maregular na ni monthly ang release,” said Casas.
(I would like to ask for your understanding in the delay of your salaries. I have to admit that there was a delay because we had a process to follow. Now that they have a budget, we will do our best that the release of their salaries would be regularly released monthly.)
Furthermore, Casas said they would continue to need the services of the nurses as the manpower to run multiple vaccination sites was not enough and their services would be needed.
The nurses recently appealed to the city government to release their salaries after four months of service. The nurses said that they would need their salaries to survive and continue serving the public amid the pandemic.
/dbs
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