File photo
MANILA – Malacañang on Monday assured there are enough healthcare workers in the Philippines despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to allow the overseas deployment of 5,000 Filipino medical professionals abroad every year.
In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Duterte was initially hesitant to approve the suggestion of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to lift the deployment ban until Health Secretary Francisco Duque III assured him that there would not be a shortage of healthcare workers in the country.
“Noong ni-request po iyan ng DOLE at ng IATF, hindi muna sumagot kaagad ang ating Presidente dahil nakipag-ugnayan muna siya kay Secretary Duque ng DOH ‘no para masigurado nga na sapat ang ating mga nurses dito sa ating bayan at nagkaroon naman po ng kasiguraduhan ang DOH na sapat po ang ating mga health professionals dito sa Pilipinas (When the DOLE and IATF requested that, the President didn’t respond immediately because he spoke first to Secretary Duque of the DOH to ensure that we have enough nurses here and the DOH assured that we have enough health professionals in the Philippines),” he said.
Roque said Duterte agreed to lift the deployment ban because data showed that the country has successfully slowed down the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
He said the President also saw hope in reports that a Covid-19 vaccine may soon be available in the market.
Roque also said Duterte said it is the right time to give healthcare workers a chance to have better opportunities abroad.
“Ngayon naman po, nakikita natin na napapabagal naman po natin ang pagkalat ng sakit dito sa Pilipinas; pangalawa po ay malapit na rin pong magkaroon ng bakuna ‘no laban sa sakit na ito; at pangatlo, inisip na rin ng ating Pangulo na siguro panahon na nga para iyong mga nais naman na mapabuti iyong kanilang mga buhay ay magkaroon ng pagkakataon (Now, we can see that we slowed down the spread of the disease in the Philippines; second we’re close to having a vaccine against this disease; third, the President thought that it’s time to allow healthcare workers to be given the chance to improve their lives),” he said.
While only 5,000 medical professionals will be allowed to leave the country every year, Roque said the number may increase “in due course.”
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), last April, issued Resolution 09, temporarily suspending the deployment of all healthcare workers "until the national state of emergency is lifted.”
The IATF-EID also released resolution No. 64 temporarily suspending the deployment of medical professionals to ensure that the country has a sufficient number of workers amid the pandemic.
Last September, Roque said the Palace recognizes the need to increase the salary of nurses and other healthcare workers in the private sector.
A study by data aggregator iPrice Group showed that Filipino nurses and medical technologists earned the least compared to their peers in Southeast Asia.
Filipino nurses earn around PHP40,381 per month while their Asean counterparts earn at least PHP63,000.
Mid-level Filipino medical technologists earn PHP29,444 per month, much lower than other Asean countries which rank from PHP57,000 to PHP210,000
In Congress, several legislations have been filed seeking to give salary hikes to medical professionals considered as front-liners in the country’s fight against Covid-19. (PNA)
