EMBOLDENED by what it said as the improving COVID-19 situation in the country, the Department of Labor and Employment is considering lifting the overseas deployment ban on healthcare workers imposed seven months ago.
“We are now seriously considering lifting the suspension of deployment of healthcare workers (abroad),” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said, noting that “the incidents (of COVID-19) are already decreasing.”
Last April, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) imposed a temporary suspension in the overseas deployment of healthcare workers to ensure a steady supply of healthcare professionals in the country’s fight against the pandemic.
Bello, however, said a cap or limit in the number of healthcare workers to be deployed abroad may be imposed to ensure the country will have enough healthcare workers in case there is a spike in new COVID cases.
