Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr. vowed Saturday (April 11) to fight the deployment ban for healthcare workers that was approved by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
In a series of tweets, Locsin called the deployment ban unconstitutional, saying it violates Filipinos’ right to travel, as well as the provision on inviolability of contracts and punitive ex-post facto resolution. He said Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) Governing Board led by Bello failed to consider how many Filipino healthcare workers were affected by the suspension of deployment.
“AND BY THE F#@KING WAY, how many nurses are affected by the nurses ban, especially those with existing jobs or completed job offers abroad? Huh? Do any of our officials know that? Did they even bother to find out?” Locsin said.
AND BY THE F#@KING WAY, how many nurses are affected by the nurses ban, especially those with existing jobs or completed job offers abroad? Huh? Do any of our officials know that? Did they even bother to find out?
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) April 11, 2020
Taking a swipe at Bello, the Foreign Affairs chief added: “DOLE Secretary Bebot Bello says the DFA representative at the POEA governing board did not object to the resolution which made it unanimous. Well I, as SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, object to it and fill up the silence of the DFA representative. I REJECT THIS ABOMINATION.”
Locsin said he will raise the deployment ban at the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) handling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis on April 13.
“@dododulay I want this on the agenda of the IATF meeting on Monday. No discussion. Long discussions spread Covid19 as we have seen even via teleconference. Just a raising of hands—for our people or against our people. Also no one talks who is not a Cabinet member,” he said, tagging Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido “Dodo” Dulay.
“The fight is not over. We will fight the ban in the IATF. We will fight the ban in Cabinet. We will fight shit for brains. We will never surrender our constitutional right to travel and our contractual right to work where there is need for our work,” Locsin added.
The fight is not over. We will fight the ban in the IATF. We will fight the ban in Cabinet. We will fight shit for brains. We will never surrender our constitutional right to travel and our contractual right to work where there is need for our work. https://t.co/pokjlCs6Cf
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) April 11, 2020
POEA said the deployment of healthcare workers will be suspended until the national state of emergency declared by President Rodrigo Duterte due to the COVID-19 crisis is lifted.
Covered by the deployment ban are: doctors, nurses, microbiologists, molecular biologists, medical technologisys, clinical analysts, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, x-ray or radiologic technicians, nursing assistants, supervisor of health services and personal care, and repairman of medical-hospital equipment.
