News from home: Residency offers for health workers, P500 Noche Buena budget

This 2022 file photo shows a Filipino restaurant in Busan, South Korea
Contributed photo

MANILA, Philippines — Groups have warned of another exodus of healthcare workers as countries offer quick paths to residency, while an actual government agency has suggested that a P500 budget for Noche Buena will be enough amid rising prices — these are among our headlines and news stories from the past week we think you should know if you’re a Filipino based abroad.

Overseas Filipinos

  • Filipino Nurses United is calling on the Philippine government to address the exodus of nurses and healthcare workers after countries such as New Zealand begin offering an immediate pathway to residency.
     
  • The Department of Health and the Philippine-American Educational Foundation or Fulbright Philippines have inked a deal to create an upskilling program for healthcare workers, which would possibly entail scholarship programs as well as research and exchange programs.

Work and the economy

  • The Department of Trade and Industry claimed this week that P500 would be enough to buy goods for Noche Buena, a claim that is technically correct but is at odds with how Filipinos usually celebrate Christmas.
     
  • President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr said they brought home investment pledges worth P9.8 billion following his recent trip to Belgium for the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit. Whether or not these pledges would come into fruition remains to be seen. 

Politics and the nation

You can view last week’s rundown here or sign up for the newsletter here.

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