Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III emphasized the importance of investing in the country's healthcare industry, adding that this is one of the major realizations brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

"We have come to realize the importance of investing not only in our economic security but also in our healthcare system, particularly in our health human resources," Bello said during the recent Philippine Nurses Association, Inc. (PNA) Annual Convention and Scientific Meeting.

The labor chief added that there is a need for a healthcare system that can effectively adapt to the requirements of the new normal and calls for a whole-of-government strategy.

In his video message, Bello shared the Department's initiatives to provide a healthy and convenient work environment for medical frontliners who have been battling the ongoing pandemic.

According to Bello, these programs and policies include the uniformity of entry salaries and incentives for health workers both in the public and private sectors.

In a recent virtual press briefing, Bello mentioned that DOLE is currently working with the Department of Health (DOH) to submit a proposal to Malacañang to make the salaries and incentives of private health workers similar to the public ones.

Another initiative is to increase the deployment cap of Filipino health workers abroad from 6,500 to 8,000.

"Although our ultimate goal is to create enough jobs locally so Filipinos would no longer seek employment abroad out of necessity, we also recognize that better job opportunities await our talented and skilled nurses abroad," Bello said.