Senator Richard Gordon questioned the enforced deployment cap on medical personnel, including nurses.
At the plenary deliberation of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) budget, Gordon asked the government’s basis for implementing the deployment cap.
Gordon said it was a violation of the Constitution.
“Bakit natin kailangang i-limit ’iyan. Hindi naman tayo nahihirapan sa Ireland, sa London. Bakit kailangan ilimit ’yan? Hindi ko maintindihan,” he said.
Gordon added that there is nothing wrong with sending nurses abroad because it helps the economy.
Senator Joel Villanueva, defending the DOLE budget, explained that the Inter-Agency Task Force approved the deployment cap.
This was done to ensure that there were enough healthcare workers in the country.
He said those who go to or from the United Kingdom and return workers are exempted.
“The initial deployment cap was 5,000 and it was then increased by another 1,500, so total of 6,500 for 2021. So ngayon, naubos na po ito. Ngayon ’yung request ay pinag-aaralan ngayon. Mayroon din pong about 15,000 healthcare workers who would take their licensure examination,” said Villanueva.
He said it is possible to grant the request to increase the deployment cap of up to 3,000.
Deployment cap on medical workers questioned in Senate
Gordon stressed that according to the Professional Regulation Commission, as of April 20, 2021, there will be 512,719 registered nurses.
But those working in public and private health facilities are only 165,361.
“Kahit na saan ninyo tignan, pwede tayong mag-deploy. Bakit ayaw natin mag-deploy wala naman tayong problema sa mga nurses? Ang lalaki pa ng sweldo niyan. Laking ginhawa pa sa mga tao. May maiiwan naman sa atin na marami at dapat may programa diyan,” said Gordon.
Villanueva replied: “According to the secretary, they are willing to review and look into it again. It’s also the request of the Phillippine Nurses Association.”
Meanwhile, Gordon submitted a matrix regarding the status of overseas Filipino workers who are scheduled to return to the countr to the DOLEy.
According to DOLE data, about 60,000 OFWs are still returning home.
“Why were they being sent home? Did they lose their jobs? Were they maltreated? Did they have problems with their contracts? Give us a matrix so that we can easily identify the problems. We really have to address this problem in a holistic manner,” said Gordon.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.