Aquino: Duterte should be wary of surge in Chinese workers

Former president Benigno Aquino III said the Duterte administration should be concerned about the entry of too many Chinese workers into the country.

At the launch on Tuesday of a book by De La Salle University professor Alfredo Robles Jr. on the Philippines’ arbitral victory over China in the South China Sea dispute, Aquino was asked to comment on President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to shelve the arbitral award in exchange for more loans and investments from China.

“Many businessmen I’ve talked to observed that there are so many Chinese nationals working here,” Aquino said.

Construction industry

He said many of these Chinese workers were in the construction industry, not in lines of work that required special skills.

“So how many thousands [of Chinese workers] are here who are taking jobs that should be for Filipinos,” Aquino said.

Aquino also voiced concern over the President’s decision to enter into “strategic, comprehensive cooperation” with China.

“How do you have a strategic partnership with a country that is perceived to be the primary threat to your interest?” he said. —Dona Z. Pazzibugan