One of the worst issues of Filipino governance is budget management. The following story is just one example. Nurses in Antique have been on strike because they have not received their salaries. The response from the provincial governor is quite revealing.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1260125 |
The Antique provincial government is eyeing the augmentation of health workers, especially the nurses from the eight district hospitals, if around 60 contract of service (COS) employees at the provincial hospital continue to strike because of their delayed salaries.
In a press conference on Thursday, Governor Paolo Everardo Javier said they are now processing the salaries of the COS, which they hope to release before Oct. 12.
“We are now processing the documents for the salaries of the COS, but if they continue to strike without them reporting to work, we will be forced to have an augmentation from the other hospitals just so the health services at the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH) will not collapse,” he said.
The health workers, who compose 50 percent of the workforce at the ASMGH, started their strike on Wednesday.
Javier thanked the Antique provincial board for approving the PHP574.24 million Supplemental Budget No. 3 during its regular session on Aug. 4.
Of the total, almost PHP149 million were allocated for the July salaries of the COS nurses in the eight district hospitals and the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) of Antique.
Javier said delays in the salaries of the COS also happened during the previous administration, that is why he would really like to know where the problems lie so that the COS could also receive their salaries on time.
Meanwhile, he reminded COS workers on strike that they are subject to the “no work, no pay” policy.
“As for me, it is okay for them to go on strike during their off days to express their grievances,” he said.
He said the striking workers should also be mindful of the disruption of services to the public, and warned that they might not renew their services when their contracts expire.
"It is okay for them to go on strike during their off days"!? Does the governor not know what a strike is? You don't strike on your off days. This dismissive attitude shows he doesn't really care about the plight of these nurses.
The governor’s warning that striking nurses may not have their contracts renewed adds tension rather than fostering dialogue. This approach risks undermining morale and service delivery, which can worsen public health outcomes. It reflects a governing style that prioritizes control over collaboration. The governor’s talk of “augmenting” health workers from other hospitals is a band-aid solution which does not address the root causes of the problem, bad financial management.
He passes the buck to the previous administration and that's all good and well but it is three months since he took office. Was he not informed about these nurses not receiving their pay? The supplemental budget was approved in August and yet only now these salaries are being processed.
The fact is the salaries of these nurses and other government workers should have been factored in to the budget and apparently they were not. Bad budgeting is simply another reason to say "No More Hell Run By Filipinos!"
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