IN THE QUIET corridors of Iloilo’s 13 district hospitals, countless acts of dedication take place every day — many performed by men and women whose names will never be engraved on honor rolls or listed in permanent plantilla positions. These are the contractual and job order workers who, despite serving for years — sometimes more than two decades — continue to work without job security, full benefits, or the certainty of a stable future.
Provincial Administrator Raul Banias’ disclosure during the recent launch of the 2025 National Hospital Week was telling: nearly half of these hospital workforce remains on contracts, even after decades of loyal service. Some have given 25 years of their lives to the same hospital, showing up day after day to care for patients, assist in surgeries, respond to emergencies, and keep critical operations running — often under the same pressures and risks as regular employees. Yet, they remain invisible in the eyes of the system.
These workers are also backbones of Iloilo’s public healthcare network. They are the ones who ensure that a newborn takes her first breath safely, that a stroke patient receives immediate attention, that wards are kept clean and infection-free. Their deep familiarity with hospital operations, their rapport with communities, and their hard-earned expertise are assets no training manual can replicate.
And yet, year after year, they sign short-term contracts, live without security of tenure, and face the constant uncertainty of whether they will still have a job in the next budget cycle. This is bureaucratic oversight and an injustice. A system that relies so heavily on these workers while denying them the rights and recognition accorded to permanent employees is exploiting the very people who keep it afloat.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.’s support for expanding plantilla positions is a welcome step, but this call must be matched by concrete action — and it must happen soon. The national government, too, must play its part by increasing the share of the National Tax Allocation for provincial hospitals to fund regular positions and fair wages.
Iloilo’s hospital contractual workers have already passed the truest test of public service: years of unbroken commitment despite inadequate rewards. They have cared for the sick, comforted the dying, and borne the brunt of public health crises without the guarantee of long-term security. It is time for the province — and the nation — to see them not as disposable labor but as the indispensable, if overlooked, heroes they truly are.
