Philippines’ Duterte eases overseas travel ban on health workers

Philippines’ Duterte eases overseas travel ban on health workers

MANILA - The Philippines' president has eased an overseas travel ban on Filipino nurses and other medical workers to allow more to take jobs abroad, his spokesman said on Monday, as his government believes it has its coronavirus outbreak under control.Thousands of health workers, who call themselves "priso-nurses", had appealed to the government to let them travel, Reuters reported last week. The nurses say they feel underpaid, under-appreciated and unprotected in the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte approved the proposal of the labour ministry to expand exemptions from the ban to those who had overseas contracts and complete documents as of Aug. 31, spokesman Harry Roque told a regular briefing.So far only those with contracts as of March 8 have been allowed to travel.Roque said the president's decision would benefit 1,500 health