My dear colleagues in the nursing profession,

I humbly express my profound gratitude and appreciation to you and our other health workers  during the COVID-19 pandemic. You serve selflessly for our countrymen. You have showed to us what courage and hope amidst diversity is like as you continue to render your nursing care with compassion. I salute each of you for your commitment and dedication to saving lives, even with the fear of losing yours. Indeed, times like this entail helping fellow Filipinos beyond civic duty; it becomes a moral imperative. 

I laud nursing groups that heeded the call to offer their valuable skills, services, and time. We have written the Secretary of Health, Dr. Francisco Duque III,  to call for emergency hiring of additional nurses. Hire competent, fit-for-practice licensed nurses for this time period, duly compensated with proper insurance and supplied with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPEs).

It is unfortunate that one of us has fallen in the battle against COVID-19. Truly, he is more than just a hero, more than a modern-day Nightingale. He is an angel who abided in his sworn duty at the expense of his life. Let him be the first and the last. Let your safety and welfare be protected at all times.

We call on the hospital administrators to treat their personnel, not just nurses, fairly and humanely, with regard to compensation, the provision of appropriate PPEs, the strict observance of the need for quarantine, adequate sleeping quarters and meals, safe transportation.

We call on our fellow countrymen; aside from staying at home for us, please do not discriminate against nor stigmatize our nurses. Just like you, they too have those fears that you harbor. And that is the reason they are taking all the extra precautionary measures to avoid acquiring the disease or transmitting the disease indirectly.

Again, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our nurses and nursing leaders, to the medical frontliners, to the frontliners who provide our basic commodities such as food and medicines, to the police and sanitary workers, and to everyone else for staying at home. We pray for our safety and that we may collectively address this looming crisis succcessfully. While we implore fervently that our requests be heard and be given utmost attention and action, we will continue to serve to the best that we can.