The Labor Department plans to tap over 4,000 returning overseas Filipino workers who work as nurses abroad to help in the government’s pandemic response.
In an online briefing, former Labor Secretary and now DOLE consultant Marianito Roque said that most of the 4,610 nurses have returned home after their clinics abroad have closed.
The official added that most of the nurses have come from the Middle East.
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DOLE said they discovered the bulk of returning nurses when they looked into DOLE’s OFW Assistance Information System (OASIS), which so far contains the names of around 800,000 OFWs who have returned to the country or those who have lost their jobs but are still abroad.
The official said that from the initial 200 nurses whom they contacted, 70 of them expressed interest to avail of the job opportunity.
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“This could be the answer sa shortage sa nurses natin ngayon,” he said.
DOLE said that they are now coordinating with health groups to determine the availability of more nurses. (TDT)
