MANILA, Philippines – Iraq is hiring.

The Iraqi government has opened up to 2,000 slots for Filipino doctors and nurses interested to work in the conflict-striken country, said Philippine Health Secretary Enrique Ona on Monday, November 12.

But a deployment ban prevents Filipinos from working in Iraq, so the Department of Health will have to coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs on this employment prospect, according to Ona.

Ona said Iraqi Ambassador to the Philippines Wadee Al-Batti has requested permission to hire 1,000 to 2,000 doctors and nurses from the Philippines. “They want as many nurses as we can give them. But the problem is the hostile situation there, and the only thing we want, also to be sure, is the safety of workers,” Ona explained.

CONFLICT-STRICKEN. Iraqi policemen inspect the site of a car bomb in the Karrada district in central Baghdad on September 30, 2012. AFP Photo/WG Dunlop

The Philippines has implemented an Iraq deployment ban since 2004, after the abduction of overseas Filipino worker Angelo dela Cruz.

“The opportunity of our health workers to go abroad is really big," Ona added. "The worldwide demand is tremendous."

Dr Rustico Jimenez, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, added that India also wants more Filipino medical professionals. “Every time there is a meeting of all hospitals all over Asia, they would ask me for 200,000 nurses,” Jimenez noted.

He said demand is also high for medical technologists, radio technicians, and pulmonology physical therapists from the Philippines. – Rappler.com