A new Department of Budget and Management circular has downgraded the positions of 109 nurses working in Negros Occidental provincial government hospitals.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, January 25, that the provincial government had to comply with the DBM circular in its 2021 budget.
A meeting was held with the nurses to explain what happened. The nurses’ reactions were negative but it is a policy from the national government so they had to convince them to make a sacrifice this year, Lacson said.
Under the DBM memorandum, those classified from nurse 2 to 7 will be downgraded 1 rank lower.
Lacson said they have assured the nurses that for 2022 they will create new positions so those downgraded this year can be promoted, he said.
The modification of the nurses’ positions was made with the upgrade of entry-level nurses holding Nurse 1 positions from salary grade 11 to 15.*