DEC.

17, 2011 DATE

NR # 2620
REF. NO.

House okays bill penalizing public and private hospitals for charging payment on nurse trainees
The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill prohibiting public and private hospitals from requiring payment of money from registered nurses who want to gain work experience. House Bill 5445 seeks to prevent the exploitation of registered nurses who are serving as nurse volunteers in any public or private hospital. The bill was endorsed for plenary approval by the House Committee on Health chaired by Rep. Alfredo Maraon III (2nd District, Negros Occidental). It substituted House Bill 767 authored by Rep. Edgar San Luis (4th District, Laguna). With the decline of demands for nurses in the United States and the United Kingdom, more and more nursing graduates end up unemployed while many of them shifted to work in call centers, retail stores and other non-professional positions. Those who are lucky enough to obtain employment abroad usually end up as caregivers, dental assistants and nursing aides, San Luis said. San Luis said the lack of employment opportunities for nurses in the country makes them vulnerable to become victims of unscrupulous practices of some hospitals which demand payment in exchange for the necessary work experience required working abroad. This is plain and simple exploitation. No matter how the hospital administrators call the pernicious practice, whether it is training, skills building, volunteer work or whatever, it is unfair to the nurses and their parents who toiled hard and spent money just so their children will become nurses, San Luis stressed. The bill penalizes violators with one year imprisonment and a fine of P500,000. The measure mandates the Department of Health (DOH) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Board of Nursing to assess all the training programs for registered nurses that are being implemented in hospitals. The bill provides that only those programs accredited by the DOH and the PRC Board of Nursing shall be implemented and allowed to charge corresponding fees. The bill further provides that any nurse volunteer who was required to pay the hospital shall be entitled to a refund of the full amount paid to the hospital plus interests of six percent per annum until said amount is fully paid. In addition, a salary equivalent to Salary Grade 11 shall be paid by the hospital for services rendered.

DEC. 17, 2011 DATE

NR # 2620
REF. NO.

The co-authors of the measure are Reps. Tomas Apacible (1st District, Batangas), Jane Castro (2nd District, Capiz), Erico Basilio Fabian (2nd District, Zamboanga City), Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava (Lone District, Guimaras), Loreto Leo Ocampos (2nd District, Misamis Occidental), Maria Jocelyn Bernos (Lone District, Abra), Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City), Randolph Ting (3rd District, Cagayan), Alfredo Maraon III (2nd District, Negros Occidental), Augusto Boboy Syjuco, Ph. D. (2nd District, Iloilo), Ma. Amelita Calimbas-Villarosa (Lone District, Occidental Mindoro), Mark Llandro Mendoza (4th District, Batangas), Florencio Flores, Jr. (2nd District, Bukidnon), Maximo Dalog (Lone District, Mt. Province), Mary Mitzi Cajayon (2nd District, Caloocan City), Emmi De Jesus (Party-list, Gabriela), Joseph Gilbert Violago (2nd District, Nueva Ecija), Susan Yap (2nd District, Tarlac), Tomas Osmea (2nd District, Cebu City), Anthony Rolando Golez, Jr. (Lone District, Bacolod City), Eufranio Eriguel (2nd District, La Union), Jeci Lapus (3rd District, Tarlac), Monique Yasmin Lagdameo (1st District, Makati City), Godofredo Arquiza (Party-list, Senior Citizens), Herminia Roman (1st District, Bataan) and Daryl Grace Abayon (Party-list, Aangat Tayo). (30) lvc