Health workers with existing contracts abroad as of March 8 can leave Philippines - IATF

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals with signed overseas employment contracts as of March 8 this year will be allowed to return to their jobs.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) made the decision on Monday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a televised briefing on Tuesday.

This was in response to the criticisms on temporary deployment ban on medical workers imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) due to the COVID-19 emergency.

Nograles said the concerned health workers must execute and sign a declaration signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved.

The IATF has also directed the Department of Health to facilitate the emergency hiring of additional healthcare workers to assist in the local healthcare system.

According to POEA, the deployment ban was meant “to support the national objective of controlling the spread of COVID-19” and “to prioritize human resource allocation for the national healthcare system at the time of the national state of emergency.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. had slammed the deployment ban, saying it was a violation of the rights to travel and non-impairment of contracts.

He was joined by Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, who argued for the lifting of the ban on health workers with existing contracts. —AOL, GMA News