‘Wag i-hostage sa Pilipinas! Nancy Binay urges POEA, IATF: Lift deployment ban on health workers

Senator Nancy Binay called on the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Thursday (August 27) to recall the deployment ban on healthcare workers.

Binay said healthcare workers should not be barred from going overseas to provide for their families.

“Sa totoo lang, mas mabigat ang pressure kung paano maitatawid ang kanilang mga pamilya sa gitna ng pandemya. Yung travel ban hostages their chance to have a decent work-life balance and give their families a better future,” she said in a statement.

The POEA had earlier issued Resolution 09, temporarily suspending the deployment of all healthcare workers “until the national state of emergency is lifted.”

The IATF-EID likewise issued Resolution No. 64 temporarily suspended the deployment of medical professionals.

Binay said there’s no basis for the fear that the Philippines would lack healthcare workers should the ban be lifted. Citing 2017 data from the Department of Health, she said there are over 750,000 licensed medical professionals in the country, including dentists, med technologists, pharmacists, physicians, and midwives.

Of this number, only 204,437 are active in the health sector, meaning more than 500,000 licensed medical professionals are not practicing their craft.

“Kung hindi kaya ng pamahalaan na mabigyan ng trabaho at sapat na benepisyo ang ating mga healthcare workers, hindi naman ata tama na pagkaitan natin sila ng pagkakataon para mabigyan ng magandang buhay ang kanilang pamilya,” she said.

Should the POEA insist on continuing the deployment ban, Binay said the government must ensure that healthcare workers in the country are given competitive compensation.

The post ‘Wag i-hostage sa Pilipinas! Nancy Binay urges POEA, IATF: Lift deployment ban on health workers first appeared on Latest Philippine politics news today.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)