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Defending DOLE’s budget: Sen. Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development, answers queries from fellow senators on the proposed P59.2 billion budget of the Department of Labor and Employment for fiscal year 2022. In a query propounded by Minority Leader Franklin Drilon during Tuesday's hybrid marathon session November 16, 2021, Villanueva explained that the basis for the temporary ban on the deployment of healthcare workers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was Republic Act 10022 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act. Villanueva said Section 5 of the law authorizes the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Governing Board to terminate or impose a ban on deployment of migrant workers in pursuit of national interest or public welfare. (Henzberg Austria/Senate PRIB)