The Labor Department cleared that overseas Filipino workers bound for Singapore are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In a statement, Labor Attaché in Singapore Saul De Vries said that the Singaporean government is currently implementing strict quarantine protocols but vaccination is not included.
“It is not a condition for OFWs to be inoculated before departing for their jobs. However, the Singapore government require them to undergo a 21-day institutional quarantine and take RT-PCR test thrice,” the labor official said.
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Singapore has temporarily suspended the entry of foreign workers from high-risk countries.
“Hopefully, such regulation of policy will be reviewed this coming July when cases of COVID-19 infection have slowed down,” De Vries added.
The Labor Department says that there are currently 200,000 Filipinos in Singapore majority of them are professionals, skilled workers, and household service workers.
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In the same statement, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Singapore has hired 200 vaccinators, with monthly salaries ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 Singaporean dollars or equivalent to some P63,000.
“I believe that most, if not all, of our OFWs in the healthcare industry, have already been vaccinated, since they are included in the priority group listing,” he said. (TDT)
