The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) conducted another round of inoculation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) last Wednesday, at the Labor Governance Learning Center (LGLC), DOLE building in Manila.

Secretary Silvestre Bello III- DOLE said that around 2,000 doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines were donated by the government of Brunei to the Philippines and have been allocated for the vaccination of OFWs who are set for deployment. He further expressed  gratitude to the government of Brunei on behalf of the Philippines government.

The said vaccination was on a first come, first served basis, but those OFWs who will be deployed in Brunei were prioritized. The vaccination drive will not only accelerate the vaccine goal of the country but also will fast-track the deployments of OFWs according to Bello. DOLE asked for the assistance of the Local Health Department of the City of Manila to facilitate the vaccination activity.
Bello denied the issue of the imposition of deployment ban on health workers, specially nurses. The deployment cap of 6,500 has already been reached, therefore, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) announced the temporary deployment suspension. Those OFWs under the Balik Manggagawa, government to government arrangements, and those deployed in the United Kingdom are exempted from the deployment ban.
The lifting of the suspension is tentative due to the current situation on the placement of healthcare workers of the involved government agencies, Bello said.

“The Labor Department will confer the matter with the Professional Regulation Commission, the Philippines Nurses Association (PNA) and the Department of Health (DOH) should there be a need for the increase of say, another 1,500 in the existing cap,” the Labor Chief said.