President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. stressed that Southeast Asian countries must find ways to address human capital flight, particularly in the healthcare sector, for the region's benefit.

President Marcos discusses the Southeast Asian region's healthcare sector with executives from Singapore-based Temasek Foundation in Malacañang on April 13, 2023. (Malacañang photo)

Marcos pointed this out during his meeting with Temasek Foundation executives in Malacañang on Thursday, April 13.

According to the President, the Philippines has become the victim of its own success, citing the emigration of nurses and doctors.

"We are very proud of [our nurses and doctors] and the role they play during the height of the pandemic, but as I said, we are a victim of our own success," he said.

Marcos said Southeast Asian countries, particularly the Philippines, should adjust and find other ways to keep their healthcare workers.

"We have to give them at least equal opportunities at home," he said.

"It is very clear that most Filipino overseas workers are willing to take less in terms of pay so long as they can stay here," he added.

President Marcos once said that every president or prime minister that he has talked to were asking for Filipino nurses.

He has directed the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to immediately address the shortage of nurses due to migration, saying the Philippines has been competing with other countries for its talented nurses.

According to Temasec Chair Jennie Chia Kheng Yeng, the Singapore nursing association has agreed to register nurses in Singapore to arrest human capital flight in the sector after the country lost 400 nurses to New Zealand, which offered permanent residency (PR).

Under New Zealand's PR, nurses can bring their families with them, allow their children to go to local schools, and apply for housing.

The Temasek Foundation International chair said Singapore does not want to give Filipino nurses citizenship, unlike what the USA, Canada, and New Zealand offer, so that they can go back and forth during their working years.

Chua commended the Philippines for producing good nurses and doctors, noting Singapore's emergency room doctors are mostly Filipinos. She likewise praised their training based on life experience.

Temasek Foundation, a Singapore-based non-profit philanthropic organization, is an arm of Singapore's state sovereign fund Temasek Holdings.

The foundation funds and supports programs to build community capabilities in Asia and beyond through philanthropic endowments.

The foundation forged agreements with the Philippines to enhance competencies across industries through the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) (Digitalization and Industry 4.0) Program, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with Design Thinking Programme, and Health Care Management Program.