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IBP: Suspension of Filipino health workers’ deployment abroad must be based on law, statistics
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.
He expressed his objection through tweets on April 11, intending to challenge the ban within the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the Cabinet.
Immigration officials prevented Filipino nurses bound for the UK's National Health Service from departing, citing POEA Resolution No. 09 Series of 2020 which temporarily suspended the deployment of all healthcare workers.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president, Domingo Egon Cayosa, stated that any suspension must be based on law and actual statistics of the local medical workforce.
Cayosa suggested tapping health workers not currently engaged in COVID-19 work first and emphasized the need for facts and statistics, not just assumptions, to justify such a measure.
He also noted that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are needed in their workplaces abroad.
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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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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.
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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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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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Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez stated that the temporary ban on the deployment of Filipino health workers abroad is constitutional, aligning with President Duterte's stance.
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