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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte tells Filipino health workers: Please stay for a while

Duterte tells Filipino health workers: Please stay for a while

Published Sep 21, 2020 11:42 pm

President Duterte appealed to Filipino health care workers to stay in the country for a little while longer as the government still needs them in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Arcadia Active Lifestyle Center in Davao City on September 21, 2020. ALBERTO ALCAIN/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Duterte made the statement after he allowed the overseas deployment of Filipino nurses and other health professionals with existing contracts and complete documents as of August 31.

In his public address on Monday, Duterte said that health workers with existing contracts with employers abroad may now leave the Philippines. He, however, asked other medical professionals to wait for their turn as the country still needs them.

"Yung iba maghintay-hintay lang kayo sandali. Kina-calibrate lang natin yung paglabas ng mga... kasi kailangan din natin yung mga tao (To the others, please wait for a while. We are still calibrating the number of people going abroad because we still need the manpower here)," he said.

Despite this, President Duterte said he has nothing against health workers who appealed to lift the deployment ban because he knows that they only want to earn more money.

"I do not have anything against you... I have but respect for all of you. But for those who want to go out, pwede na ho (you may do so)," he said.

He then appealed to those who were not able to leave the country this time to stay behind until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

"Sana yung iba naman (I hope the others who are still here) will have the spirit and the fervor to serve the Filipino people because we also need help and we have a crisis also to deal with," President Duterte said.

"Sana tagal-tagalan na muna ninyo (I hope you'll stay for a while), until after this COVID-19 will pass. It will come to pass, sigurado ako (I'm sure of it)," he added.

According to Malacañang, 1,500 Filipino nurses and other health professionals benefitted from the lifting of the deployment ban.

The government initially halted the migration of health workers abroad to ensure their safety from COVID-19 and to address the shortage of manpower. It later allowed health workers with perfected and signed work contracts as of March 8 to be deployed for abroad. 

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