Health care workers bearing employment certificates (OEC) from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) have been given permission by the government to leave the country this week.
This came following Malacañang’s announcement on Thursday, August 21 that gave the green light for healthcare workers with overseas employment contracts as of March 8 to pursue their careers abroad.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) made the decision after Filipino Nurses United sought for the lifting of deployment ban reinforced in IATF’s Resolution No. 64.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, healthcare workers with complete and verified working papers are now allowed to honor their contracts with employers abroad.
“I repeat, health professionals with OECs issued by POEA and those with verified employment contracts as of March 8, 2020 can now leave the country,” he said Friday, August 21.
The OEC is a document certifying the regularity of recruitment and documentation of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW). It serves as proof of his/her registration with the POEA, as well.
Roque also said that OFWs stuck in the country when President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus are now allowed to take their flights back to countries where they are employed.
“Pwede rin pong lumabas ng bansa ang mga Balik Manggagawa o yung mga nagbabakasyon lamang sa Pilipinas at matagal na pong nagtatrabaho sa abroad (Those who may leave are workers on vacation who have long been working abroad),” he said.
The spokesman previously urged health care workers to stay in the country.
According to him, the government is already providing medical front-liners additional benefits like risk allowance, P15,000 for those who get infected with COVID-19, life insurance, free accommodation and transportation, as well as free and frequent testing.
“Sa tingin ko po, sa panahon ng pandemiya, mananaig naman po ang nasyonalismo sa puso at damdamin ng ating mga nurses (I think in the time of pandemic, nationalism will prevail in the hearts and feelings of our nurses),” Roque said.
“Kahit mangibang bansa ang ating mga health workers, maiiwan silang mga mahal sa buhay dito at sana maisip din ng mga health professionals na wala namang mag-a-attend sa mga pamilya dito kapag kailangan ng mga health workers (Even if our health workers go abroad, they’ll leave their loved ones here. I hope they also consider that nobody would attend to their families here),” he added.
As of Friday, there are 182,365 COVID-19 cases in the country, with 2,940 fatalities and 114,519 recoveries.
