NEWS | Woes of Filipino healthcare workers: First deployment cap, now unsystematic vaccine rollout
By Angela Vanessa Manuel
The pandemic exposed how horrendous the public health situation in the country is, particularly the dreadful state of Filipino healthcare workers, due to lack of government support. Even with the scarcity of jobs awaiting healthcare workers locally, the government imposed a temporary deployment cap of health workers in fear of running out of medical staff in the country. After many controversial events, they face another problem as they call on state officials to be more systematic and scientific in carrying out the vaccination program.
Exploitation amidst deployment cap
As the country was caught unprepared with the surge of the COVID-19 cases last year, the government suspended the deployment of healthcare workers abroad to preserve human resources. However, the decision was immediately revoked by President Rodrigo Duterte in November 2020. Instead, a deployment cap, which allows only 5,000 newly hired medical professionals to leave every year, was implemented.
The 14 categories of newly hired healthcare workers covered by the 5,000 annual deployment cap are medical doctors, nurses, microbiologists, molecular biologists, medical technologists, clinical analysts, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, x-ray technicians, nursing assistants, operators of medical equipment, supervisors of health services and personal care and repairmen of medical-hospital equipment.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III explained that the cap is temporary and that it serves as an assurance that the country will have enough professionals to attend to the medical needs of fellow Filipinos. Conversely, the decision was still highly criticized by medical professionals.
In an interview, Maristela Abenojar, President of the group Filipino Nurses United (FNU), claimed that the government should not fear of running out of nurses as there are around 200,000 unemployed or underemployed Filipino nurses in the country. Furthermore, she reiterated that the government shall ensure Filipino nurses and other healthcare workers on receiving proper pay and compensation.
“Ang mas [malaking] challenge sa government ngayon ay paghihikayat. Ang paghihikayat sa health workers ay magiging tagumpay lamang kung sila po ay magpapatupad ng tamang pasahod at benepisyo sa ating health workers,” Abenojar said.
This sentiment was backed by Anakalusugan Partylist Representative Mike Defensor who urged the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to reconsider the said deployment cap on health workers. According to Defensor, exit quotas or similar restrictions are not really desirable since they expose individuals to potential exploitation.
“As far as we’re concerned, there’s really no point in restraining our healthcare workers from leaving for abroad, if we can’t provide them good-paying jobs here at home,” Defensor furthered.
Currently, the United Kingdom and Germany are negotiating with the Philippine government and are seeking an exemption from the 5,000 per year limit on deployment of Filipino nurses and other health care workers. It is reported that Germany is hoping to hire around 15,000 Filipino medical workers.
Transparency and accountability
In light of the numerous controversial events involving the government, such as the unauthorized vaccination of military men and the violation of health protocols, several medical groups called on the government to impose a more scientific and systematic vaccination program. The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) and FNU also demanded transparency and accountability from the government as they rolled out these programs.
Aside from providing healthcare workers with free and safe, COVID-19 vaccines, AHW President Robert Mendoza insisted that the government should give free hospitalization to inoculated workers who will develop severe allergic reactions and indemnify those who may die.
The inoculation of employees of COVID-19 referral centers and other public and private hospitals is expected to begin this month.
Nothing has changed
In a recent survey, “The State of Southeast Asia: 2021,” conducted by the Asean Studies Centre in Singapore, it revealed that the Philippines got the lowest approval from its citizens in terms of their administration’s handling of the pandemic, with at least 53.7 percent of Filipino responding “disapproved” and “strongly disapproved.”
In the same survey, respondents voted on the actions their respective government shall do in addressing the public health crisis. Around 72.2 percent of Filipinos believed that the Duterte administration should “encourage more scientists and medical doctors to contribute to public policy discussions and heed their advice,” while 58.3 percent also said that the government should “invest in early warning systems for pandemic outbreak and on research and development for virus testing and vaccine development.”
On February 15, healthcare workers under the Department of Health (DOH), public and private hospitals, and local government units organized a protest at the House of Representatives to push for the amendment of the Republic Act №7350 or the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers. Protesters said that last year’s wage hike, through the government’s move to reclassify their salary grades, did little to counter their increasing day-to-day expenses.
Mendoza reiterated that among the steps that should be taken by the government include the increase in hazard pay, subsistence allowance, laundry allowance, and the addition of other safety measures to protect health workers from contracting COVID-19.
The FNU also believes that the public health care system should be strengthened, particularly the public infection control measures of free mass testing, systematic contact tracing, adequate quarantine services, and economic support for the people.
Moreover, Rep. Defensor explained that while the state should recognize the need to lessen the loss of mission-critical skills, they should also need to be mindful of their constitutional duty to promote a rising standard of living and improved quality of life for all Filipinos, including healthcare workers and their families.
