The Philippine government is currently studying the feasibility of building a dedicated wing for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) across selected hospitals in the country.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople stated that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had instructed her to coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) about the possibility of having an OFW wing in hospitals during the Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the budget of the DMW.
“The President has given a directive po for the DMW and the DOH to sit down and discuss the possibility of just having OFW wings in various hospitals po kasi we presented the OFW Hospital to him and sinabi niya, baka the direction towards health services for OFWs would be to look at which hospitals can accommodate an OFW wing po,” said Ople.
The head of the financial sub-panel, Senator JV Ejercito, backed the president’s suggestion.
“The chair agrees with the President because OFWs come in different places in the country. So for practicality, that’s his idea,” he said.
According to Ople, the proposed spending plan for the OFW Hospital in Mabalacat, Pampanga, is Php500 million. However, only Php13 million was allotted by the Department of Budget and Management.
