AT least 2,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are expected to benefit from the inoculation drive of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Wednesday with the donated Covid-19 vaccine from the Brunei government.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said he had already instructed recruitment agencies to bring their unvaccinated overseas Filipino workers to avail of the free AstraZeneca jabs.
“This will not only help accelerate the administration of the vaccines to thousands of Filipinos but will fast-track the deployment of our OFWs abroad,” Bello said in a news statement.
He noted that vaccines would be administered on a first come, first serve basis at the Labor Governance Learning Center (LGLC) at the DOLE main office in Intramuros, Manila.
DOLE coordinated with the City of Manila to organize the vaccination drive.
Bello thanked the Brunei government for the donation since it will help protect more OFWs from the pandemic.
Last August, DOLE announced the Brunei government is requesting an exemption from the country’s existing deployment cap for Filipino health-care workers (HCW).
The Southeast Asian nation is considering the hiring migrants, preferably for its 200 nurses and 30 doctor vacancies.
As of Monday, DOLE spokesman Rolly Francia said they still have no information on the action of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on the said request.