12,000 nurses to lose jobs due to DOH budget problems

Thousands of nurses under the Department of Health's deployment program are at risk of losing their jobs due to budget constraints, the Ang Nars Party-list said. According to a report on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday, Ang Nars party-list Representative Leah Paquis said some 12,000 nurses may lose their jobs, as their contracts are about to end, and the government has no sufficient funds to renew their contracts. Aside from this, Ang Nars said doctors, midwives, and pharmacists also face the same fate because of the same reason. (12,000 nurses could lose jobs due to budget constraints, warns ANG NARS party-list; Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News; Published January 14, 2018 9:37pm)
An estimated 12,000 nurses might lose their job this year because of lack of budget, while 5,000 already got unemployed last year, a party-list disclosed yesterday. “[An estimated] 12,000 of 24,000 nurses under the DOH [Department of Health] nurse deployment program will lose their jobs this year because of lack of budget. Last year, 5,000 nawalan ng trabaho (lost their job),” Ang Nars Party-list Rep. Leah Paquiz said. (Ang Nars Party-list: 12,000 nurses might lose job this year; Published January 13, 2018, 7:42 PM; By Charina Clarisse Echaluce; Manila Bulletin)

Section 1. It is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect the security of tenure of civil service officers and employees in the reorganization of the various agencies of the National Government and of local governments, state colleges and universities expressly authorized by law, including government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters, without sacrificing the need to promote morale, efficiency in the civil service pursuant to Article IX, B, Section 3 of the Constitution.

Section 2. No officer or employee in the career service shall be removed except for a valid cause and after due notice and hearing. A valid cause for removal exists when, pursuant to a bona fide reorganization, a position has been abolished or rendered redundant or there is a need to merge, divide, or consolidate positions in order to meet the exigencies of the service, or other lawful causes allowed by the Civil Service Law. The existence of any or some of the following circumstances may be considered as evidence of bad faith in the removals made as a result of reorganization, giving rise to a claim for reinstatement or reappointment by an aggrieved party: (a) Where there is a significant increase in the number of positions in the new staffing pattern of the department or agency concerned; (b) Where an office is abolished and other performing substantially the same functions is created; (c) Where incumbents are replaced by those less qualified in terms of status of appointment, performance and merit; (d) Where there is a reclassification of offices in the department or agency concerned and the reclassified offices perform substantially the same function as the original offices; (e) Where the removal violates the order of separation provided in Section 3 hereof. (Republic Act No. 6656; June 10, 1988)