THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said it has reopened the windows for the processing of documents of healthcare workers for overseas deployment.

"We can already start processing the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC)," POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said in a text message Friday, June 18, 2021.

He welcomed the increase in the overseas deployment ceiling for healthcare workers, although the adjustment is less than the targeted additional 5,000 workers.

"It is lacking, but, at least, there is a silver lining. It is okay for the moment," he said.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases raised the deployment ceiling to 6,500 from 5,000 during its meeting Thursday, June 17, 2021.

The POEA suspended on June 1 the deployment of nurses, nursing aides, and nursing assistants after the 5,000 ceiling was reached.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said they had asked the IATF to increase the annual deployment cap by 5,000. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)