DMW Secretary Susan Ople said that they are seeking to get the resources for the scholarship fund through bilateral talks with other countries.
“Hindi po maiiwasan na aalis at aalis din sila (They will keep on leaving). I think it’s also unjust to make them stay here. Dahil (Because) they’ve been waiting for the circumstances to change in the domestic workforce,” said Ople in a Senate budget hearing.
“We have proposed we can come up with a pool of scholars. We will ask during our bilateral talks with other countries for them to contribute to a scholarship fund for med techs, all kinds of healthcare workers,” she added.
Ople said the idea came from Singapore’s Minister of Health. She added that the Singapore-based Temasek Foundation is willing to contribute to the proposed scholarship fund for Filipino health workers. US-based staffing agencies also welcomed the idea, she said.
The DMW chief noted that the proposal will be discussed during an inter-agency meeting on Monday next week along with the departments of Health, Foreign Affairs, and Labor and Employment.
Further, Ople said that there is a need to address the conditions in the country for healthcare workers.
“We also need to look at the conditions here. Kasi it’s very clear yung (the) attractiveness of the conditions elsewhere. It’s really here that we need to address po yung problem (It’s really the problem here that we need to address),” she said.
DOH earlier said that over 190,000 healthcare workers are needed in public and private hospitals nationwide.
With reports from CNN Philippines correspondent Eimor Santos
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 10) — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is mulling the creation of a scholarship fund for healthcare workers seeking to work overseas.
