Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 11) — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. said Saturday that he will fight the temporary ban on the deployment of Filipino health workers abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic in the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the Cabinet, hitting on the government's move as a violation of the Constitution.

"The fight is not over. We will fight the ban in the IATF. We will fight the ban in [the] Cabinet... We will never surrender our constitutional right to travel, and our contractual right to work where there is need for our work," Locsin said in a tweet.

"This violates the Constitution in 3 ways: right to travel, inviolability of contracts, [and] punitive ex-post facto resolution," he pointed out in a separate tweet.

Locsin said he wants the matter to be tackled in the Task Force meeting on Monday.

"I want this agenda on the IATF meeting on Monday. No discussion. [....] Just a raising of hands — for our people or against our people. Also, no one talks who is not a Cabinet member," he said to DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Brigido "Dodo" Dulay.

The Foreign Affairs secretary said the ban cannot apply to health workers with existing jobs overseas, based on the Constitution. He said it should have been announced weeks before it took effect, "unless they wanted to round up the nurses before they can escape to their constitutionally projected jobs abroad."

"How many nurses are affected by the nurses ban, especially those with existing jobs or completed job offers abroad? [....] Do any of our officials know that? Did they even bother to find out?" Locsin said in another tweet.

He said Labor Secretary Silvestre "Bebot" Bello III reportedly stated that the Foreign Affairs representative at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board did not make objections to the resolution, making it "unanimous."

"Well, I, as SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, object to it, and fill up the silence of the DFA representative. I REJECT THIS ABOMINATION," he said.

Locsin also voiced out how he opposes the policy in an earlier tweet.

"Well, they are wrong, dead wrong, and violating the Constitution," he said, referring to the copy of the resolution posted by DFA Undersecretary Dodo Dulay.

A resolution, which temporarily suspends the deployment of all healthcare workers abroad, or "until the national state of emergency is lifted, and until [the] COVID-19 related travel restrictions are lifted at the destination countries," was signed by the POEA Governing Board on April 2.

Petition to lift the deployment ban

A petition on the lifting of the overseas deployment ban for Filipino health workers is making the rounds online.

"Given the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines, we understand that the government is in need of nurses who are capable of volunteering. We are writing this letter in order to voice out our sentiments regarding the suspension of the deployment of all healthcare workers until the national state of emergency is lifted," a Filipino nurse stated in the petition.

He said most of them already had visas and scheduled flights even before the enhanced community quarantine had taken effect, pointing out that the validity of their visas can have an impact on their deployment status.

The Filipino health worker also reasoned out that nurses who applied abroad had "spent most of their time, effort, and money" just to comply with the requirements needed to work overseas.

He added that most nurses have already "waited long enough" for them to be deployed, and be able to provide financial support to their families.

"We are hoping that this resolution will be reassessed, and that there will be a flexibility on the restrictions previously imposed. Furthermore, we hope that the government will be just to acknowledge the sentiments of the nurses who opted to work abroad," the Filipino nurse said.

The petition was addressed to the Office of the President, DFA Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr., DOLE Secretary Silvestre "Bebot" Bello III, and Senator Bong Go.