Manila Bulletin
Palace backs health workers’ overseas deployment
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) will recommend lifting the temporary deployment ban on Filipino health workers with existing overseas contracts as of March 8, allowing them to return to their jobs abroad.
However, health workers are not allowed to go to countries with existing travel restrictions.
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard Olalia stated that workers resuming their jobs overseas may now leave the country, provided they comply with social distancing measures and existing departure and immigration procedures.
The IATF also directed the Department of Health to facilitate the emergency hiring of additional healthcare workers for the local healthcare system.
This decision allows doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals with signed contracts to return to their jobs abroad, acknowledging the risks involved.
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Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. vowed to fight the temporary ban on deploying Filipino health workers abroad, calling it an "abomination" and a violation of the Constitution.
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The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has temporarily suspended the deployment of health care workers abroad as the country grapples to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
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Senator Joel Villanueva lauded the executive department's reconsideration of its earlier move to prohibit healthcare workers from leaving the country.
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Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos stated that healthcare workers with existing contracts should be allowed to deploy abroad, viewing them as the Philippines' contribution to global care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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President Duterte expressed hope that Filipino health workers would not all leave the country for jobs abroad amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, acknowledging their desire for better compensation while highlighting the Philippines' critical need for medical personnel.
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