Capitol’s medical staff cope with late salaries

Several newly hired doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in Cebu’s 16 district and provincial hospitals have not been regularly receiving their monthly salary.

“We don’t have a specific time frame as to when the delays specifically happened but some receive their salaries two to three months late,” said Provincial Health Officer Cynthia Genosolango.

Yesterday’s deliberation of the Capitol’s proposed P3-billion annual budget for 2015 became an impromptu venue for health officials to seek help from the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) in addressing the problem.

According to Genosolango, the irregularity of the disbursement of salaries to medical personnel has “discouraged local doctors from rendering services in provincial hospitals.”

In an attempt to end outsourcing in province-run hospitals, the Capitol hired its outsourced personnel as job order and casual employees in 2013.

A number of nurses were absorbed as casuals while doctors, surgeons and other medical specialists were hired as consultants by Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III.

However, during the processing of the payroll for the newly-hired personnel, Genosolango said they were required by the Human Resources (HR) office to submit additional requirements such as accomplishment reports which led to the delays.

“On the part of the doctors, it has been affecting them very much considering their monthly living expenses. It makes it harder for us to entice doctors from Cebu,” she told reporters.

Provincial Accountant Marieto Ypil said they will come up with standardized form of requirements to speed up the processing of salaries.

Meanwhile, Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale offered to transfer personnel from her office to help in the payroll duties.

Available funds

Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas said the problem was just because of “miscommunication” between the HR and the health office.

He added that the salaries of medical personnel are in place for the rest of the year with no shortage of funds.

“The budget until yearend is already in place. It’s not about the money. We can pay their salary but they just need to comply with some documentary requirements,” he said.

The Provincial Health Office proposed P409 million for its budget in 2015, bigger than this year’s P380 million.

Out of the amount, P175 million will go to non-office expenses such as salaries of doctors, surgeons and nurses.

Genosolango said they have already hired 75 percent of their overall target personnel for 2015.

From P132 million this year, the budget for the salary of outsourced and job order personnel was also raised to P175 million.

Meanwhile, P54 million is allocated for the salaries of regular and casual medical personnel.

Board Member Peter Calderon said he will call for a separate meeting to address the problem.

Board Member Grecilda “Gigi” Sanchez-Zaballero who chairs the budget committee also supportted Calderon’s stand.

“We better stop discussing this here because we are not moving forward. Maybe we can look for another avenue to address this in the following days,” she said.