OFWs headed to Singapore not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 — official

Overseas Filipino workers headed to Singapore are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before they are allowed entry, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

According to Labor Attaché in Singapore Saul De Vries, the Singaporean government is currently implementing strict quarantine protocols but vaccination is not included.

"It is not a condition for OFWs to be inoculated before departing for their jobs. However, the Singapore government require them to undergo a 21-day institutional quarantine and take RT-PCR test thrice," he said in a statement over the weekend.

Singapore has also temporarily suspended the entry approval applications of foreign workers from high-risk countries.

"Hopefully, such regulation of policy will be reviewed this coming July when cases of COVID-19 infection have slowed down," said De Vries.

There are currently some 200,000 Filipinos in Singapore, majority of whom are professionals, skilled workers, household service workers, healthcare workers, and employees of the tourism and information technology industries.

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Singapore recently approved over 200 job orders for vaccinators, with monthly salaries ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 Singaporean dollars or equivalent to some P63,000.

Moving forward, De Vries said that while vaccination is not mandatory, Filipinos in Singapore are highly encouraged to get inoculated.

"I believe that most, if not all, of our OFWs in the healthcare industry have already been vaccinated, since they are included in the priority group listing," he said.

The Philippines on Sunday, June 6, reported 7,228 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, to bring the total to 1,269,478. This includes 59,337 active cases; 1,188,243 recoveries; and 21,898 deaths. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA News