(Eagle News) — More health professionals are now allowed to leave the country for their work abroad.
This was after President Rodrigo Duterte gave the approval for health workers with complete documents as of Aug. 31 to report to work overseas.
Earlier, only those with complete documentation as of March 8 were exempted from the ban on the deployment abroad of medical workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Palace earlier urged Filipino healthcare workers to stay in the country instead, citing the urgent demand for their services with COVID-19 cases still rising.
In calling for a recall of the deployment ban, the Ang NARS party-list, however, said many Filipino nurses “have no choice but to seek foreign employment if we want to provide a decent life for our families.”
“If the government wants to keep our health workers within the country, then the Philippines must offer internationally competitive salaries, benefits, and protection so we will choose to stay, instead of being forced to [go abroad],” the party-list added.
The Palace has suggested changing the classification of government nurses in the government standardization law so they could get higher salaries.
It also urged private hospitals to increase the salaries of health workers to prevent them from leaving for work abroad.
