4,000 Filipino nurses to return to overseas jobs — DOLE

Nurses wearing protective gears prepare the holding area for possible cases of coronavirus disease at Ospital ng Parañaque along Quirino Avenue in Parañaque City. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — More than 4,000 Filipino nurses, who lost their jobs because of the pandemic, will soon return to their jobs abroad, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Thursday.

Bello said the 4,610 Filipino nurses would soon return to their former work, noting that the nurses in the country are “sought after” overseas.

“Hindi ito mga na-displace, ito yung mga end of contract. Balik-manggagawa ang mga yan, after a while babalik na po sila, so walang problema dito sa apat na libo,” he said over Teleradyo when asked about the  nurses.

(They were not displaced, they are those with completed contracts. They would soon return [overseas] so there is no problem with the 4,000 nurses.)

“Hinahabol po ang ating mga nurses, maniwala po kayo,” he stressed. (Our nurses are sought after, believe me.)

Bello earlier said that the employment cap of 5,000 for Filipino nurses has been lifted for the United Kingdom, citing oversupply.

“Totoo po ‘yan, sila po (UK) ang nag-request,” he confirmed.

(That’s true, they had requested it.)

In a separate TV5 interview, Bello said the UK is requesting to hire 2,000 to 3,000 nurses a month.

He also allayed fears that the lifting of the employment cap may lead to a lack of supply in the country.

“Pinag-aralan din natin yan, actually may oversupply tayo eh,” he pointed out. (We are still studying that, actually we have oversupply [of nurses].)

He also revealed that DOLE is studying the lifting of the employment cap for Germany, which also expressed interest in acquiring more Filipino nurses for their country.

“Siyempre pag-aaralan kung kakayanin dahil maliwanag ang instruction ng ating Pangulong Duterte na ‘pag-deploy mo OK lang, pero tiyakin mo na may maiiwan na sapat na supply ng mga healthcare workers’,” Bello explained.

(Of course, we would have to look into that if we can because the instructions of our President (Rodrigo) Duterte are clear that it’s okay for you to deploy more, but make sure that there is still enough supply of health workers.)

/MUF