THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has ordered limits to the deployment of health workers abroad.
“The deployment of Filipino health care workers shall be strictly regulated to prioritize and provide support to the health care needs of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the POEA said in Memorandum Circular No. 07-A-2020.
“The POEA Employment Branch shall immediately study, coordinate with health authorities, and provide guidelines for a regulated deployment of Filipino health care workers,” it added.
POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said regulated deployment means that deployment will be limited in number and selective in skills category.
“It will depend on our present stock of health workers (when we) take into account the rising number of quarantined doctors and nurses in our medical facilities,” said Olalia.
In recent days, several hospitals have complained that their frontline workers are overworked because of the rising number of COVID-19 patients.
The POEA said the regulation of health worker deployment abroad shall be lifted as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic is declared to be “under control.”
