Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 11) – The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency want foreign employers to shoulder the cost of vaccinating overseas Filipino workers against various diseases before they leave the Philippines.
At a hearing of the House of Representatives committee on overseas workers’ affairs on Thursday, DFA Assistant Secretary Enrico Fos said it was only “ethical” for foreign employers to pay for the vaccination of OFWs.
Fos was invited to share the DFA’s views on House Bill 6779, which proposes to make vaccination mandatory for OFWs prior to departure for their jobs abroad.
“I suppose we will not be passing the cost to the workers. And that should be clear in implementation. And we will be upholding the ethical principle of employers pay,” Fos said about the bill.
POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said there’s currently no clear policy on the vaccination of OFWs prior to deployment. He said the agency is currently consulting with concerned groups on who should foot the bill for COVID-19 tests and quarantine of workers.
“May we propose an amendment that instead of agencies advancing the vaccination cost, it should be the foreign employer, subject to reimbursement,” Olalia said about HB 6779.
The bill filed by Marino party-list Reps. Sandro Gonzales and Macnell Lusotan proposes that the cost of vaccinating OFWs be equally shared by the government, the manning agency and the union to which the worker belongs.
