(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte is discouraging health care workers from going abroad at this time to work in countries with high incidence of coronavirus cases.
The President said that more than the fact that this adds to the depletion of much needed health care workers in the country, the migration of health care workers abroad would also endanger their lives.
“Please do not misunderstand me. I am making it clear now. I do not want you to go there and come back in a coffin. That’s my — that’s my only argument if you may because you are Filipinos at mahal ko ang mga buhay ng kababayan ko,” he explained.
Duterte said he would be consulting with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on this matter.
“Ang problema sabi ko we’ll have to look into this again. It has to be this week. Maybe two days from now, we’ll have to meet again and consult legal si Secretary Guevarra whether or not it would be legal for us to just stop the migration of health workers simply because they are being taken in in a place where is there is so much…Kawawa ‘yung Pilipino eh,” he said.
“Don’t cut this particular portion because it’s very important. It’s a more valid reason to stop a doctor or a nurse than the previous one which said that we will be deprived — we will be deprived of workers. Walang ano ‘yon — walang masyadong — no leg to stand on actually.”
President Duterte said that sending health care workers abroad at this time should be stopped, but before he can issue a directive on this, he wants to make sure that this is within legal boundaries.
As of the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 3.5 million people infected worldwide with COVID-19, with the United States still with the highest COVID-19 cases at 1.18 million, followed by Spain with 218,011 cases; Italy with 211,938 cases; United Kingdom with 191,832 cases; France with 169,583 cases; Germany with 166,152 cases; Russia with 145,268 cases; Turkey with 127,659 cases; and Brazil with 108,266 cases.
Many health care workers have also been infected with COVID-19 in these countries.
(Eagle News Service)