Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte on Friday urged the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to recruit the best medical professionals to practice at the Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital (OFWH) in Pampanga.
Villafuerte said that medical specialists should be encouraged to hold clinics at the hospital that was established to serve migrant Filipino workers who have returned from abroad.
Villafuerte’s proposal is contained House Bill (HB) 8325, which the bigger chamber unanimously passed on third and final reading, tasks the Department of Health (DOH) to sign up medical specialists to treat OFWs and their families at the OFWH, which is the Level III hospital that lawmakers have proposed to be established in San Fernando, Pampanga, said Villafuerte, a co-author of this bill.
Also, the bill authorizes the OFWH to invite to the hospital foreign experts in fields not readily available in the country, and to send its personnel to research or medical institutes for advance healthcare training and to attend international or local conferences and seminars, subject to the DMW’s approval.
“This proposed OFWH, which will be under the direct supervision of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), is meant to offer comprehensive health services to OFWs, their legal dependents and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) contributors and to the general public as well,” Villafuerte said.
He echoed the recent view by Speaker Martin Romualdez that the House’s approval of HB 8325 during the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress underscored the chamber’s commitment to advancing the welfare of OFWs by making sure that our migrant workers and their dependents get the “quality, timely and efficient” healthcare services they deserve, and in accordance with Republic Act (RA) 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act.
“HB 8325 seeks to establish a special hospital for OFWs and their dependents in order to address the limited scope of our existing medical package of services under the Medical Care Program for OFWs, pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 195 series of 1994,” Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP), said.
“Our OFWs are regarded as our Bagong Bayani or modern-day heroes with their remittances that keep our economy afloat. What we do not often see are the emotional and physical stresses that living and working abroad away from their families exact on their physical, emotional and mental,” he added. “Hence, the need for the government to provide them with quality, accessible and comprehensive healthcare services to deal with their most common ailments or health problems such as pneumonia, hypertension, cancer, trauma, liver disease and depression.”
This House-approved measure had consolidated several similar bills, including HB 1275 that was principally authored by Villafuerte.
HB 8325 was among the 566 bills that the House passed on third and final reading during the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress, which adjourned sine die last June 2 and will reopen for its next legislative session on July 24.