NURSES deployed abroad this year have reached the cap of 6,500, prompting the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to reimpose the deployment ban amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.
“The processing, issuance of overseas employment certificates (OECs), and the deployment of new hires for nurses, nursing aides, and nursing assistants are hereby suspended effective immediately,” POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said in an advisory.
“The suspension shall take effect until a new resolution has been issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID),” he added.
“Pursuant to the lifting of the moratorium or temporary suspension on the deployment of nurses, nursing aides, and nursing assistants, and increasing the annual deployment cap from 5,000 to 6,500, the Administration hereby announces that the said ceiling has been reached as of date,” said Olalia.
He said nurses whose exit clearances have been issued will be allowed to leave the country.
In April 2020, the POEA imposed a temporary suspension in the deployment of healthcare workers to ensure a steady supply of medical frontliners in the country’s fight against pandemic.
In November 2020, President Duterte lifted the deployment ban but set an annual deployment ceiling of 5,000 newly-hired nurses, nursing aides, and nursing assistants. Last June, the IATF-EID approved the increase in the annual deployment cap of newly-hired healthcare workers to 6,500.
