The government has ordered the temporary suspension of the deployment of Filipino health workers abroad in the wake of the public health emergency arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) has urged government hospitals to hire these health professionals to augment their workforce as the country battles the disease outbreak.
The latest decision was reached by the IATF during a virtual meeting on Monday after the country’s cases of coronavirus soared past 160,000.
"Considering the continuing State of Public Health Emergency, the overseas deployment of the medical and allied health workers is hereby temporarily suspended pursuant to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Governing Board Resolution No. 09, series of 2020," the IATF said in Resolution No. 64.
"For this purpose, the DOH and all hospitals and healthcare facilities of local government units and entities are enjoined to hire these medical and allied health workers to supplement their current workforce," it added.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the deployment ban might likely be implemented until the coronavirus emergency has subsided.
He said the POEA has not been processing new permits to work abroad for medical professionals.
Roque said the government has so far hired more than 5,000 health professionals to augment the workforce in the battle against the pandemic.
He noted that they have also started to conduct online recruitment of medical workers.
“I think we will achieve our objective of 10,000 additional (health workers),” he said.
"We have a minimum of 100 doctors who responded to our call from Regions 1, 2, 3 for them to temporarily practice in Metro Manila due to high cases,” he added.
Prior to the IATF decision, the government has allowed medical and healthcare professionals with existing work contracts as of March 8 to be deployed abroad. Before leaving the country, health workers are asked to sign a declaration signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved as advised by the Philippine government.