AFP to ink pact with DOH for deployment of military health workers to hospitals

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday said it will partner with the Department of Health (DOH) for the deployment of military health workers to more hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Colonel Fatima Claire Navarro, the AFP surgeon general, said the military organization and the DOH will enter an agreement to detail the number of military doctors, nurses, and nursing aides that will be deployed depending on the need of health facilities.

The agreement will also indicate the duration of the deployment of military health workers to hospitals, Navarro said.

She added this will be implemented by its Health Service Command with the guidance of the Office of the Surgeon General.

This came days after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to deploy members of the medical corps due to the increase in COVID-19 cases among health workers.

In 2020, the AFP deployed some of its medical teams and personnel to augment the force of health workers in Cebu and Davao.

“This agreement [with the DOH] will solidify our continued support to our national government and manifests our commitment to win in our fight to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” Navarro said. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News