DOLE inspectors tracking down illegal foreign workers in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Labor law inspectors are now on red alert in tracking down illegal foreign workers in the country, Department of Labor and Employment Secretary (DOLE) Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday.

“Actually on red alert yung ating labor law compliance officers, hindi namin binabanggit sa publiko, meron kaming mga inspector na iniispect lahat itong Boracay, yung mga Pogo (Philippine offshore gaming operators),” Bello said in an interview with dzMM.

“Nagkaron kami ng massive inspection and I’m just waiting for the result of the inspection. Pati yung mga nagnegosyo diyan sa mga economic zones, pinasok din ng aming inspectors and tuloy tuloy yan. We don’t want na ang ating mga kababayan ay mawalan ng trabaho,” he added.

It was earlier reported that Chinese businesses in Boracay were seen to have been growing in numbers after the island resort reopened last year, with some allegedly having Chinese nationals as employees.

However, Bello said he sees no problem with the rise of foreign businesses in the country as these provide employment for Filipinos.

“Yung tungkol sa negosyo, eh wala tayong magagawa. Kasi tayo, we are in great relation with other countries kaya kung may mag-invest dito, okay sa atin, hindi ba? Kung may magnegosyo ditong Japanese, Korean, Chinese, magandang investment, bakit hindi natin i-welcome, it provides employment,’ he said.

“Ang pangit diyan eh kung yung mga magtatayo ng business dito, eh dayuhan din ang kanilang gagamiting mga manggagawa eh yun ang mali. We will not allow that,” he added.

So far the labor department has yet to recieve a report concerning Chinese businesses in Boracay, Bello noted.

“Wala pong nakakarating saming report, kasi kung meron, nandiyan naman po yung ating labor officials na tinitiyak nila na walang mga dayuhan na gumagawa ng trabaho na kaya ng Pilipino,” he said.

The labor chief also mentioned that he will be meeting with the head of the inspection team to review the results of the inspection.

He added that the said inspections conducted by labor law compliance officers are a joint effort with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Earlier, the BIR estimates that over 130,000 unregistered Chinese Pogo workers. /muf

READ: Over 130,000 Chinese Pogo workers unregistered with BIR, says official