MANILA – A health advocate on Wednesday urged private institutions to raise the salaries of healthcare workers to address the migration of the country’s medical professionals.

In an online media forum organized by the Department of Health, Dr. Antonio Dans of the Health Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 said the Philippines is the number one exporter of nurses and number 2 of doctors in the world.

“How do we retain them? We need to increase their salaries. We need to standardize salaries. Iba-iba masyado. Meron tayong tinatawag na ‘internal brain drain’ where the public system drains the private system. Ang bababa ng salary ng ating private healthcare system,” he said.

“Sila ‘yung nakukuha sa ibang bansa, ‘yung napakababa ang suweldo. We need to require private institutions to… sila nga ‘yung malaki sumingil eh, gandahan naman nila ‘yung suweldo ng healthcare workers nila.”

There should also be standardized benefits for healthcare workers, Dans added.

He said there should be an international treaty on healthcare worker brain drain.

“’Pag merong kinuhang healthcare worker like a nurse here, the recruiting country should pay as twice for the money we invested in that person. ‘Yung ating training is an investment in our health and inaani. Tinatanim natin, inaani ng ibang bansa. And that is totally unfair. So they should pay twice what we pay for the education if these people trained in a public institution,” said Dans, who is also a professor at the University of the Philippines and National Academy of Science and Technology.

In a study, Dans cited some factors why healthcare workers leave the country, including their unemployment, underemployment or being underpaid for their workload, misemployment over job orders and casual positions, and unjust working conditions due to “politicization” of appointments and non-issuance of magna carta benefits, among others.

Hillary Jane Reginio, a nurse who graduated from San Pedro College in Davao City but is now in Austria, said that for as long as the salary of nurses in the Philippines is not raised, many of them will seek greener pastures abroad.

"Sa totoo lang po, hangga't hindi tumataas ang sweldo diyan or parang equal pay sa aming trabaho dun sa Pinas, of course, aalis at aalis din yung mga nurses diyan. Kaya nga umalis ang nurse kasi gusto nilang mag-gain pa ng money for their family, para may ipo-provide," she said in an interview via Zoom on TeleRadyo Wednesday evening.

"Kasi, paminsan diyan, andami pang gastos, may utang pa talaga ang tao. So kailangan talaga may balanse (sa) pay and workload namin diyan sa Pinas," she added.

Reginio shared that she formally studied the German language first in preparation for the available job opportunity in Austria. An agency that processed her employment took charge as well of her language course, she said.

Without divulging her own salary in Austria, Reginio said the starting rate for Filipino nurses there ranges between 2,300 and 2,500 euros.

"Mas malaki pa rin (ang sahod) dito," she said, adding it is her employer that paid for her language course and her accommodation there, while providing her a welcome package and allowance for their initial expenditures.

Reginio said she will be assigned in a nursing home for the elderly.

"Kontrata muna kami. And then, if we decide to stay here longer, possible naman na maging resident kami dito or maging citizen," she said.

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Meanwhile, Dans also called for the professionalization of barangay health workers.

“Lagi taon-taon merong bills on that pero walang naipapasa,” he said. “Barangay health workers are our main force…at alam niyo ba ang mga suweldo ng mga iyan kung meron man: P1,000 a month or something ridiculous like that,” he said.

Dans also lamented the compulsory retirement age of 65.

“I retired last week at 65. Parang it is program disability. Puwede pa naman akong tumulong sa ating healthcare workers. May shortage nga eh tapos pagre-retire-rin natin at 65,” he said.

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