POEA to issue guidelines on lifting healthcare worker ban

November 22, 2020

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is set to issue guidelines regarding lifting of the temporary deployment ban for healthcare workers.

In a phone interview Sunday, POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said: "Immediately, this (lifting) will take effect upon the approval of a governing board resolution of the POEA."

A news report on Saturday said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III disclosed that President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to lift the deployment ban on nurses and other healthcare workers.

Bello said there will be a limit of 5,000 healthcare workers deployed every year as approved by Duterte.

In April, the POEA temporarily suspended sending healthcare workers,  to ensure enough healthcare professionals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Annual deployment of nurses and other healthcare workers is estimated to be between10,000 to 12,000. DMS