MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the creation of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Hospital, Malacañang confirmed. Duterte on Tuesday signed Executive Order No. 154 establishing the hospital as well as the Inter-Agency Committee on the OFW Hospital (ICOH).
The ICOH will be headed by the Secretary of the Department of Labour and Employment and co-chaired by the Secretary of Health. Senator Cynthia Villa sent out a tweet about the decision on Thursday.
“We consider the establishment of this specialty hospital devoted to OFWs as a long-overdue recognition of the valuable contribution of Filipino migrant workers to the economy and to the nation,” Cabinet secretary and acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement.
Background
The groundwork for country’s first-ever OFW hospital was laid in a ceremony held on November 20, 2020, to mark the start of construction of a 100-bed medical facility in Pampanga province, about an hour by car from Manila.
It's not immediately clear if a separate hospital will be built under the president's new order. Overseas Filipinos earlier launched a signature drive calling for an OFW hospital in Manila.
The under-construction OFW hospital is rise on the two-hectare land from the provincial government of Pampanga. The construction will be made possible with the Php500-million ($10 million) donation of Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Inc. (BCFI), an entity established by the operator of Solaire Resort and Casino.
Aside from BCFI’s donation, PAGCOR will also donate P300 million ($6 million) for the purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment for the hospital. PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo, who graced the ceremony said then that the soon-to-rise OFW hospital will immensely help the country’s modern-day heroes who endure homesickness just to provide for their families and keep the economy afloat.
“We will finally have this very first, modern and state-of-the-art health facility intended solely for the care and medical needs of our OFWs,” Domingo said.
The Pampanga OFW Hospital project was 15.7%-complete as of May 6, said Labour Undersecretary Renato Ebarle.
"Once completed, the hospital willhemploy 293 medical personnel. The hiring process was set to begin later this year. The four-story facility is a 100-bed hospital intended for OFWs and their families. He said the Department of Health (DOH) has categorised the OFW Hospital at level 2, with level 3 being the highest.
Remittances
Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) increased for the seventh straight month as more host economies with high vaccination rates reopened.
For the first eight months of 2021, total cash remittances went up 5.7% to $20.38 billion from $19.285 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, BCFI President Donato Almeda in a statement said that many Filipinos rely on the OFW’s contribution to the national economy through their hard work and remittances.
However, very little assistance or recognition is given to them when they finally return home to retire.
“The OFW Hospital is a way for us to show our gratitude. We hope to jumpstart and be a catalyst for other like-minded organizations to build more health facilities for our retiring OFWs, providing them care and compassion as they spend their retirement years back in our beloved country," Almeda cited.
