Nurses group welcome easing of deployment ban

September 21, 2020

Nurses eyeing employment overseas welcomed the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to ease the deployment ban for healthcare workers despite the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

In an open letter to Duterte,  PrisoNurses lauded the decision of Duterte.

"We would like to thank you for allowing Filipino nurses, who are affected by the existing deployment ban for medical workers, to continue with their applications for overseas work," said PrisoNurses President Jerrick Gomez.

"Consequently, the exemption of those nurses, who have completed and signed their contracts on August 31, would lead to more nurses being able to pursue their nursing careers abroad," he added.

"Leaving their families behind is never easy. But hard decisions have to be made to better the lives of their loved ones in the country," he stressed.

In April, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) imposed a deployment ban to selected categories of healthcare workers, saying there is a need to make sure  the country shall have a steady supply of health personnel.

The Inter-Agency Task Force imposed an exemption to the deployment ban for those with verified employment contract as of March 8.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administrator Bernard Olalia proposed the easing of the cut-off date to August 31, which was supported by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III. DMS