The Philipppine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has suspended anew the deployment of Filipino nurses and healthcare workers abroad as the 6,500 cap set for the year has been reached.
"Inabot na natin yung deployment cap. Nagkaroon tayo ng (We have reached the deployment cap. We have set a) cap of 5,000 for year 2021 and another 1,500 following the request of our healthcare workers," Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a virtual briefing on Monday, Nov. 8.
"Naubos na yun kaya hininto muna natin ang pagdedeploy ng mga nurses (The ceiling has been reached so we temporarily suspended the deployment of nurses)," he added.
POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia recently issued an advisory announcing that the agency has stopped the processing and deployment of HCWs.
"The processing, issuance of overseas employment certificate (OECs) and deployment of new hires for nurses, nursing aides and nursing assistants are suspended effective immediately,” the advisory stated.
However, the POEA noted that healthcare workers who have secured OECs before the advisory was issued are allowed to depart for overseas employment.
Olalia said the deployment ban will continue until the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases issues another resolution on the matter.
The government has decided to limit the deployment of healthcare workers to ensure that the country has an adequate number of medical workers amid the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.