The government, with its reputation for coming up with temporary and piece-meal solutions to social and economic problems, is now contemplating barring Filipino doctors from migrating and working overseas. Health secretary Francisco Duque seems to be keen on imposing such ban on deployment:
Here’s the article published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer this August 3:
DoH: Gov’t can stop doctors from leaving; it is the law
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino doctors would be barred from migrating and working abroad to avert a possible shortage of medical practitioners, if Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had his way.“You don’t expect Indians and Cambodians to treat Filipinos,” Duque Thursday told reporters on the sidelines of his meeting with provincial governors and his counterpart in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on the “FOURmula One for Health” strategy of the Department of Health (DoH).
“While we’re out there treating other people, the irony is we don’t have anyone to treat our own people. Of course, the authorities will not allow it. Political leaders will not allow that. I will not allow it. If I have to respond to it today, I will close the door,” he said.
According to Duque, the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 8043) allows the government to implement this extreme measure, especially “when the profession is deemed mission-critical.”
“The government has the authority, the power, to close the exit doors,” he said.
The ban on deployment is in Section 5 of the law, which states that the labor secretary, “in pursuit of the national interest or when public welfare so requires may, at any time, terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers.”
On the brink
Duque said that while he did not have exact data, he believed that the Philippines was on the brink of a shortage of medical doctors.
He estimated that the country had lost from 5,000 to 6,000 doctors since 2001.
A big number of doctors have also studied or are studying to become nurses for them to be able to work overseas.
Duque said he was scheduled to meet on Friday with the University of the Philippines’ National Institute of Health, which had conducted a study on the migration of doctors.
“I will ask if there is any threshold to be established that will signal government authorities to shut the door,” he said.
Asked if preventing Filipino doctors from leaving the country would not violate their rights, Duque said: “I will give you this question — When do individual human rights end and national interest begins?”
Solutions
Duque said that in the late 1990s, the government invoked the deployment ban in the Migrant Workers Act to stop the exodus of Filipino pilots.
“They were all leaving and threatening the integrity of the airline industry. What the labor department and the other relevant agencies did was to invoke [the Migrant Workers Act]. We have to protect the national interest,” he said.
Duque said the health department’s response to the steady migration of doctors included the continuing implementation of its “Doctors to the Barrios” and “Pinoy MD” programs.
He also mentioned a medium-term solution complemented by the foundation of Jose Miguel Arroyo, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s husband, which awards scholarships to poor but deserving medical students at UP and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
To put away the trivial errors first, let me correct the article by saying that yes, there is a law stating that the government has the capacity to prevent deployment of migrant workers, as stated in section 5 of the Migrant Workers Act of 1995 RA 8042 and not RA 8043 (which is actually about policies regarding inter-country adoption of Filipino children):
Sec. 5. TERMINATION OR BAN ON DEPLOYMENT - Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4 hereof, the government, in pursuit of the national interest or when public welfare so requires, may, at any time, terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers.
While that I expect the government to put out some more aggressive solutions about the deteriorating health care, I didn’t expect that the government would actually contemplate this kind of action. And the question posed by the Health Secretary is a bit disturbing:
When do individual human rights end and national interest begins?
I believe individual human rights should always be first priority, except perhaps when a criminal act is concerned. But concerning the personal lives of those who only wish to survive, what right does the government have to interfere? What right does it have to impose that here your human rights end and that your life need to be sacrificed for the sake of “national interest”? And the question that I commonly ask, who defines the public?
Even if the government does decide to impose the ban, I don’t think it’s going to solve the problem of deteriorating healthcare. Public health funds and implementation, the current medical system, the medical community, and a cooperative community of patients are the important factors in a working healthcare system. To make the healthcare system work, all of the factors should be taken cared of. The imposition of a ban is just like stoppering a sinking ship full of holes with a cork. It only prevents the water from getting in through one hole, while it does nothing to take care of the rest.
And perhaps the government is forgetting that it cannot control the minds of people. It may be able to hinder the physical migration of workers (the doctors, in this case) but it cannot stop the doctors from leaving the medical profession, which I think would be the next thing happening if this imposition of ban on deployment of migrant workers ensues. So this leaves us where? A health care system still not working and a community of medical healthcare practitioners whose rights to live and practice their profession the way they deem it right trampled upon.
And if this happens, doctors may just decide to stop being doctors and go on strike.
August 4th, 2007 at 9:51
another one of the secretary’s brilliant idea. as early as now, the number of enrollees in medical school is dwindling, that schools have to attract foreign students. once they impose this ban, there will be close to zero enrollee, then and by then, will we really be in a pending disaster that is caused by impulsive decisions and actions.
hoping that PMA will be FOR doctors and not only OF doctors
August 4th, 2007 at 11:21
Instead of shutting the exit door, why not just open new doors of oppotunity and better compensation here in our country?
The governtment is truly run by idiots!!!
August 4th, 2007 at 11:30
I think DOST or DOH will be implementing a scholarchip for Med students wherein if the scholar graduated… she cannot leave the country until she / hes done with a certain contract (number of years working with the govt…
August 4th, 2007 at 11:45
there wouldn’t be need for a doctors to leave the country if the government is taking care of them. why should we just stand aside and sacrifice our life for our country who doesn’t realize our importance? i am not being arrogant here… its just sad that why are we the one who should sacrifice always. being a doctor is a noble profession…but we have to live too…
August 4th, 2007 at 12:14
forgive me for being an OC…
when i read my reply, i cringed because of my grammatical errors.
i was just too pissed off to proofread before posting.
August 4th, 2007 at 16:02
to cora: It is unfortunate that even if there are medical doctors who are also government officials, nobody really stood up to voice out the concerns of Filipino doctors. Probably perhaps nothing monetary can be received in return for doing such. Too many are clamoring for patients’ rights but no one dared stand up for doctors’ rights. Whenever someone attempts to do so, he is labeled selfish or arrogant. As if doctors do not have their own rights too. How much I wish the PMA as an organization of medical doctors will stand up this time and fight for the rights that are being trampled upon or set aside as unimportant.
And why only ban migrating doctors then? Aren’t we short of competent nurses and teachers too? Why not impose ban on deployment on these professions too? I think the government’s reasoning behind it is that they think doctors do not really need monetary compensation or career satisfaction as much as nurses and teachers. Perhaps they think doctors are rich, but they are not.
August 4th, 2007 at 16:08
to jhay: Yes, I agree that giving better opportunities for doctors would be the right way of solving this problem of shortage. However, the government, as you’e said, are filled with idiots, they think their stop-the-leak-with-a-cork plan is brilliant. Well, it’s not. It’s actually stupid. Didn’t it cross their minds that if they force those who want to leave to stay here, with no added benefits or incentives for all medical practitioners, they might just push all these doctors to leave the medical profession altogether. Now, the problem worsens: a shortage of doctors AND those who are left may not want to practice their profession anymore. What can the government do? Can they force minds to think when it does not want to anymore?
August 4th, 2007 at 16:11
to melo villareal: The implementation of such plan is good, but it seems clear from the secretary’s statements that he wants to wield the Iron Hand: he wants to hinder ALL doctors from leaving, not only those whose medical education was subsidized by the government. Well, it does make sense that those who went to the state universities be made to serve several years of practice here before they go overseas, still the idea of the government controlling how these people must practice their profession is disturbing.
August 4th, 2007 at 16:16
to agnes:
“Why should we stand aside and sacrifice our life for our country who doesn’t realize our importance?”
Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to say in all the articles I’ve written regarding healthcare in this country. That’s why I always get persecuted for writing and publishing online the article, M.D.s on Strike: Why Doctors are Leaving and Why They Should Be Leaving (read the article here). I have been labeled selfish and unpatriotic many times that I’ve come to accept it, in terms of how these people want to define it. I am without guilt for such selfishness (see my article, No Guilt For Selfishness).
August 4th, 2007 at 16:51
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August 5th, 2007 at 20:29
UP ba si Duque? If so, nakakahiya. Hahaha. He’s senile already!!!
August 6th, 2007 at 12:29
To say the least, Duque’s insinuations are preposterous. I’m with you on this Prudence : they don’t have the right to tell you you can’t leave.
The proper response from the doctors would be: show me the money!
August 6th, 2007 at 12:46
To Benj: I’m not sure. But his statements reflects that he is incapable of rational thinking.
August 6th, 2007 at 12:50
to Jon Limjap: Money is one thing but it isn’t the only thing. What perhaps most doctors in the country is clamoring for are the right to be recognized as human beings who need self-esteem, proper work, and career satisfaction. The government (and some of the “public”) just see doctors as people that can be sacrificed because “the public” needs them. The often quoted justification for this “sacrifice” is the Hippocratic oath. Doctors are said to have sworn to serve humanity. Yes, we do serve humanity. But we are not slaves. Like the rest of the human beings on earth, we do have the right to live our lives as we see it fit, not the way other people want us to live it for them.
August 6th, 2007 at 18:51
On one hand you have doctors who are called into the profession, and would stay even without the promise of good pay. Good for them.
Most of us may not have enrolled in medical school for the money, but is it not justifiable to ask for compensation equivalent to the responsibility doctors handle?
That’s why I hung up my stethoscope for a while.
August 6th, 2007 at 20:43
to Carlshark: If the government will continue on imposing the ban on deployment, I may have to hung up my stethoscope, too.
August 7th, 2007 at 1:23
In regards to Prudence’s remarks, in Canada you cannot believe the amount of transplanted Philippine nurses here. We do have a few doctors but only a small handful in my experiences with our system.
They have told me of some really bad things about how your system works. I realize that we are NOT PERFECT but I can see why some of them as well as other medical practitioners may wish to migrate to another system.
Prudence, I can see why some people maybe be pissed at your and label you this and that but, this helps create dialogue and hopefully you can make a small influence in how people perceive the problem.
I honestly hope that you can reverse this slide in the future. We have had a “Brain Drain” from Canada to the US for many years now but believe it or not, it IS REVERSING!!! So there is light at the end of the tunnel … you just have to wait for it.
August 7th, 2007 at 4:29
You know Prudence, there are a lot of things that are more profitable than being a doctor. Although the feeling of helping somebody through an illness is priceless, sometimes the common person takes for granted the long hours of study and work that goes into that.
No thanks to senior doctors who have lost their humanity, preferring to treat patients like “tasks” and earning their enmity. No thanks to the government, and the public at large, who value the trivial nonsense of charter change and politics more than the existence of diarrhea and TB as killers in this modern age.
Some of us are more idealistic than others. And then reality slaps you in the face. If it has been willed that this situation would be reversed, it would take a miracle. A change in the system from top to bottom, more government spending, a more relevant curriculum and training program, and people actually willing to spend (and save) more for their health - all these things could not happen in our lifetime save for an Act of God.
August 7th, 2007 at 10:34
to Chris: Yes, no medical system, so far, is perfect. But the important thing is that the system should be continually improved upon. I don’t see it in the current medical system in this country.
I know I may have pissed a lot of people with what I write. But yes, I do agree a dialogue is in order. However, the people who would rather treat me as a nuisance and would gladly boot me out of this country because they “don’t need my kind of attitude in here” are those who are not open to such discussions but rather, they’d like to keep what they believe in as the only truth and be blind to whatever is truly happening around them.
Yes, there will be a reversal in the future. It’s the way it would go because it’s how balance can be maintained. However, are we still going to wait for that future to balance things out? How come definite measures aren’t instituted? And all the government thinks of is the short-term solution to problems with no consideration as to the human aspect of such problem.
August 7th, 2007 at 10:40
to carlshark: I can believe about the senior doctors who have somewhat lose their “humanity”. I remember that doctor who told me that respect should be earned. While we do both believe in that statement, we have different interpretation of it. In my interpretation, I believe that every medical graduate and licensed physician deserve to be treated with respect because they worked hard for their degree. For the other doctor, he believe that by being in the lowest level of the totem pole deserves the least respect. I vehemently disagreed on that. Don’t they remember that if they lose the lowest end of the totem pole, the big sharks above it will fall?
This is turning into a hopeless situation, I’m afraid. Because our fellow doctors refuse to see what we’ve been trying to tell everyone and would rather accuse us of selfishness. Call a spade a spade, they say. Patriotism does not feed a family is what we’re really advocating, according to them. What they refuse to see is that we’re trying to fight for our right to be recognized as human beings with needs and wants. Rather, they’d tell us there’s something innately wrong with us and how we practice our profession that’s why we do not earn the respect we deserve. You can go check it out on my article, M.D.s on Strike.
August 7th, 2007 at 20:21
I just read an article from Inquirer about the response of a government-run hospital regarding this proposition. I would agree that it will violate human rights shall the government impose barring doctors from migrating. I think the government should realize that the problem lies in the root of this problem - lesser budget for health (if I am not mistaken, the government allot 75 cents per Filipino, with much of the government’s budget going to the army and ammunitions), lesser salaries, overworked employees with not much compensation, poverty, among others. Although, as many have always been pointing out, being a doctor is about service, you also have duties to your families such as providing them with good education, food and their basic needs. I could not blame doctors seeking for greener pastures, they have families to feed.
The health care crisis needs a sustainable solution and not just, as you have said it, temporary and piece-meal solution. It’s a pity that Doque are coming out of these desperate and unjustifiable solution. Tsk.
August 7th, 2007 at 23:43
Will Never Happen! Unless the Phil. become a dictatorship again, or is overrun by communist ( I should not say never, who knows someday the communist, or a grand revolutions will change this in the future). Definitely a crisis in the Philippines- but mostly I think the affected areas are the provincial hospital - those run by the government, who would rather pay contractors, mayor, congressmen more money that the Filipino Doc. If just more of that pork barrell can go to the healthcare system rather that the “contractors” kickback for the roads they build, maybe it will solve hte problem. Anyway, it is good that Duque is coming up with these bizarre ideas, at least it will grab some attention. For now I am least worried….( I think if this happens…a grand Strike of Doctors to a scale never before seen will happen…I don’t thnk the government is ready for such a battle. They will bring the Indians in instead.(if they can pay them above the salary they get in india. Health is Wealth, includes the country’s well being…and future prosperity, it will continue to suffer as long as money in inappropriately managed. The Government will wait for the collapse of the healthcare before they will fix it. So let it die a natural death, if this is the only way the government will listen, and soon after another Filipino revolution will occur.
August 8th, 2007 at 0:06
to BetanMD: With the current government? I think all worst-case scenario are possible.
“The Government will wait for the collapse of the healthcare before they will fix it. So let it die a natural death, if this is the only way the government will listen, and soon after another Filipino revolution will occur.”
— That’s why I’ve written M.D.s on Strike. I think the only way for the Philippines to realize it’s already in deep sh*t is for the country to lose most of its doctors. Because even with the ongoing crisis, all the government is able to think of is to close the exit doors, but with no solutions, whatsoever, about the poor opportunities available here or the dreadful allowance for Filipino healthcare that the government is providing. 75 cents for every Filipino! That is, according to Jam. Geez.
August 8th, 2007 at 0:13
to Jam:
Thanks for commenting. I hope that you, as a budding medical practitioner, will realize that in a few years’ time, you’re coming into the world of real medical practice in the Philippines and it’s not pretty. I hope it will open your mind to the different possibilities. No, I’m not going to try convince you to leave the country once you graduate. I want you to come to your own decision by having your practice here in the Philippines first so that you may see first-hand how it really is. Then you may decide which road you will take. Some of the older doctors may have already forgotten how it is to be treated like sh*t when starting a practice and I think it contributes to their tenacity to shoot down those who’re voicing out their concerns about the way doctors are treated in this country, claiming that it’s actually those people’s fault that they’re not respected. Keep an open mind.
Thanks again for visiting my blog!
August 8th, 2007 at 4:07
Hey… a revolution fueled by a rotting health care system.
Now that would be another first for the Philippines.
But, instead of waiting for the hammer to fall, I stowed away my scrub suit. Brooding about the ineptness of other people has not helped to calm my grumbling stomach.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:23
hi every one,
iam an indian doctor of kerala origin, I happened to see the plight of philippine doctors.
At first I thought that Indian doctors were the only ones in trouble, however after surfing the net I now know that most of the developing world its the same problem.
For a govt doc here we get 300 USD to 600$, which is very less as compared to our counterpart in engineering and business field are making, we made a strike that lasted for one and a half month…..but the result the strike failed…as the governemnt took a firm stand and also when the trade unions, and left wing people turned against the doctors, and told that doctor is a service and etc etc….
And dont worry about the shortages of doctors you have in phillipines,,, why?? Look in cuba, where a GP earns a Whooping ” 12 $ ( YES TWELVE DOLLARS ONLY) PER MONTH.
So wont he be more than willing if he is given the prospect of giving 100 dollars??
Think, in cuba its not surprising doctors work as taxi drivers….
suraj