The deployment of medical doctors to Cebu City to assist to contain the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will be voluntary.

Dr. Renilyn Reyes, head of the DOH-CHD 6 (Western Visayas) public health program development cluster, announced this on Tuesday following series of meetings and consultations regarding the earlier plan of the DOH to send 39 doctors to Cebu City.

In a virtual presser, she said the decision was reached after a meeting with Secretary Francisco Duque III, undersecretaries and assistant secretaries, and Western and Central Visayas regional directors of the Department of Health.

DOH 6 also conducted a consultation meeting with the Doctors-to- the Barrio (DTTB) and Post Residency Deployment Program (PRDP) doctors.

“The consensus of our meeting as per meeting also with the Secretary of Health was that the deployment of our doctors to Region 7 (Cebu) will be on voluntary-basis,” she said.

The deployment was supposed to start June 29 with 25 DTTBs and 14 PRDPs doctors being eyed to be sent to Cebu on four batches.

In her statement on Monday, DOH 6 regional director Marlyn Convocar said the deployment was temporarily held in abeyance “until all issues and concerns are settled with concerned physicians and other stakeholders”.

Meantime, no schedule was set yet if when the deployment of volunteer doctors will be done.

“This is part actually of our assistance to our neighboring region. This is always been a practice not only in Covid-19 but in other disasters such as in polio where we provided help to Region 12. When we had dengue here, Region 7 also helped us,” Reyes added.

Reyes said doctors under the DTTP and PRDP are still welcome to join if they are interested. (PNA)