Dole cannot process foreign workers permit on its own — Bello

MANILA, Philippines — The labor department does not have enough manpower to single-handedly process alien employment permits for foreign workers, labor secretary Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday.

Bello said this after Senator Joel Villanueva’s proposal to return to the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) the sole authority to issue work permits to foreign workers.

Villanueva said that the Bureau of Immigration (BI), which handles the issuance of work permits to foreign workers, has been corrupt in its practice.

The proposal was included in the proposed 2019 budget but was vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

READ: Veto of work permits provision in budget disappoints Villanueva

Bello, however, said that the labor department cannot handle the task on their own due to lack of manpower.

“For practical reasons, hindi pa kaya ng manpower ng Dole to administer the issuance of working permit. Maraming requirements (There are many requirements),” Bello told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview.

In a move to address the problems with the rising number of illegal foreign workers in the country, Bello said the guidelines detailing rules for foreign workers will be released “soon.”

“Magkakaroon ng inter-agency guidelines which basically states na walang mabibigyan ng working permit kung yung trabaho ay kaya ng Pilipino,” Bello said.

(A new inter-agency guidelines will be issued, and it basically states that working permits for foreign workers will not be issued if there are Filipinos who can do the job.)

Bello added that the guidelines will also require foreign workers to secure a tax identification number before they can receive their alien employment permit.

Dole’s Bureau of Local Employment chief Dominique Tutay earlier said that the issuance of work permits would be limited to foreigners who belong to any of the 14 categories listed and who would only do short-term work in the country.

The issue on the prevalence of foreign workers in the country started after ABS-CBN News reported that 15 Chinese nationals were spotted working at a construction site in Manila. The report noted that the contractor is Chinese and the workers were hired for their technical skills. /ee

READ: New policy on foreign workers out by May 1