Philippines considers relaxing travel ban for nurses

By Karen Lema
MANILA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The Philippines is considering
allowing more nurses and other medical professionals to leave
for jobs abroad after banning them from travel so they can fight
coronavirus at home, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman said
on Thursday.
Thousands of the nurses, who call themselves "priso-nurses"
have appealed to the government to be allowed to travel, Reuters
reported on Wednesday. The nurses say they feel underpaid,
underappreciated and unprotected at home. Health care workers from the Philippines are on the front
lines of the pandemic at hospitals in the United States, Europe
and the Middle East as well as back home.
The labour minister has proposed to expand exemptions to
those who had contracts abroad as of Aug. 31. So far it is only
those with contracts as of March 8 who have been allowed to
travel.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque told a media briefing
that a proposal for a relaxation would be made on Monday to
President Duterte, who will have the final say.
Foreign Affairs Minister Teodoro Locsin, who has called for
the lifting of the ban, said in a tweet the Philippines has
400,000 nursing graduates without jobs so "they're rightly
pissed."
In Germany there are 430 doctors and nurses per 10,000
people. In the Philippines, there are 65.
The Philippines has the highest number of recorded
coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia with 276,289. Its 4,785
deaths are second only to Indonesia.
Labour Minister Silvestre Bello told nurses on Sept. 11 he
was confident the president would support his proposal to relax
the travel ban. He said the total lifting of the ban was "under
serious study".
"While we don't want our nurses to leave, they are at a
disadvantage. They don't have jobs here and even if they did,
the salary is low," Bello said as he urged nurses to fight for
their rights.

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INSIGHT-Pandemic "hero" Filipino nurses struggle to leave home
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(Editing by Matthew Tostevin)