48 Filipino caregivers fly to Israel, part of first batch under gov't to gov't track

A total of 48 Filipino caregivers left Manila for Israel on Tuesday, part of the first batch of 377 workers to be deployed to the Middle Eastern country under the government-to-government track. advertisement The said track was a result of the bilateral labor agreement signed by the Philippines and Israel in 2018, according to a report by Dano Tingcungco on GMA News' Unang Balita on Wednesday. Under the government-to-government track, applicants do not need to go through private recruitment agencies. They only need to apply for jobs through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The setup aims to stop the practice of charging overseas Filipino workers placement fees which would reach up to P78,000 per person. "Ito 'yung ating programa ng ating pamahalaaan ngayon para tugunan 'yung issue ng mataas na placement fee na sinisingil sa ating mga caregivers papunta ng bansang Israel," POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said. (This is the program of the government now that addresses the issue of high placement fees being collected from caregivers going to Israel.) "Ang ginawa natin, nag-employ tayo ng isang track, 'yung tinatawag nating government track, na kung saan ang kausap natin dito yung counterpart natin na government agency din sa Israel," he said. (What we did is we employed the government track wherein we deal directly with our counterpart government agency in Israel.) "Ibig sabihin tanging POEA na lamang ang magha-hire, magse-select at madedeploy ng mga caregivers," Olalia explained. (That means only POEA can hire, select, and deploy caregivers.) More caregivers to be deployed In an online press briefing, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard Olalia said processing of more deployment of caregivers are underway. He said this means there will soon be a second batch of caregivers who will be sent to Israel. "There is continuous process of selection, hiring, and matching between employer," he pointed out at the Labor Department's V Cafe forum. Asked if deployed caregivers will reach 1,000, Olalia pointed out that this could be surpassed as demand for caregivers in Israel are increasing. On the vaccination requirements, Olalia said Israel government has no vaccine preference for incoming workers. He also said vaccination is not required for the workers but health protocols must still be followed. "'Yun nga lang kailangan negative sa COVID-19 test at kinakailangan mag-quarantine," he added. (They need to be negative for COVID-19 and that they should undergo quarantine.) The group that left on Tuesday was also the first batch of OFWs deployed to Israel after the deployment ban was lifted on July 14. One of the caregivers said the government-to-government track has made it easier and safer for them to get jobs in Israel. — with Consuelo Marquez/KG/RSJ, GMA