ILOILO – The 1,660 personnel of 11 district hospitals and the Iloilo Provincial Hospital would still be able to receive their salaries under a reenacted 2018 provincial government budget for 2019, according to Vice Gov. Christine Garin.
Garin was reacting to the concern expressed by Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. on the uncertainty of the proposed P3.7-billion 2019 provincial government budget.
“In a reenacted budget, the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses is fully enacted. Kon ano man ang expenses last year, amo man gihapon magamit this year. So, included man ang job hires,” said Garin.
The 1,660 personnel of the hospitals are made up of 649 job hires and 1,011 contract of service personnel.
For them to continue getting paid, said Garin, all the governor has to do is certify that the services of these personnel are essential and necessary.
Garin said she believed the services of the hospital personnel are essential and necessary, and nothing prevents the governor from issuing this certification.
“The 1,660 hospital personnel have nothing to worry about,” she stressed even as she clarified that the reenactment of the 2018 budget remained uncertain.
The Provincial Board’s appropriations committee is doing its best to finish its scrutiny of the proposed 2019 budget, said Garin.
The vice governor also said regular employees of the provincial government would be able to receive the fourth tranche of their salary increase once the 2019 budget is approved even if delayed.
On Tuesday Defensor urged the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) to “set politics aside” and approve the proposed provincial budget for 2019. The proposal has been stuck at the committee on appropriations for a month now following the Nov. 13 reorganization of committees in the Provincial Board.
“Think not of our individual welfares or the welfares of our political patrons but consider first and foremost the welfare of our people,” Defensor appealed to SP members during his State of the Province Address.
If the SP fails to approve the proposed 2019 budget, the provincial government would be forced to operate on a reenacted 2018 budget.
However, said Defensor, this could paralyze the operation of the hospitals because the contract of service hospital staff (doctors, nurses and medical technologists) and job hires would not be reappointed.
With a lack of personnel, Defensor further said, the district hospitals would not be able to “comply with the License-to-Operate requirements of the Department of Health.”/PN
