BI strengthens rules against foreign workers in PH

AT HOME IN MANILA Chinese workers walk past posters showing images of home as they begin the day’s work on the China-funded Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila. —JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines — As the country marked Labor Day, the Bureau of Immigration said that it has tightened its rules against foreign workers in the country.

Immigration Chief Jaime Morente said Wednesday that it strengthened its rules on the issuance of permits to foreign nationals following reports that the number of foreigners working in the Philippines has been increasing.

Morente linked the increase in the number of foreign nationals working in the country to the emerging industries in the Philippines like online gaming.

“Issues and challenges only appear now. This has never been a problem in the past because of the relatively smaller number of foreign nationals working in the Philippines then,” Morente said in the release.

According to Morente, a joint guideline has already been signed between the Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the BI.

Morente added that previous regulations “did not have any restrictions” apart from the duration of a foreigner’s stay in the country, a system that was “prone to abuse.”

He further explained that a special work permit allows a foreigner with a tourist status to work in the country for not more than six months, and does not bind him or her in an employer-employee arrangement. There is a separate working visa, called a 9(g) visa, with contracts usually lasting for one to three year.

A work permit allows a foreigner extended business activities within the prescribed period, but a visa binds a foreigner as an employee of a company in the Philippines, Morente said.

Aside from the updated work permit rules, Morente said concerned agencies will now require proof of tax payment among foreigners applying for visas and work permits.

“It’s really about government agencies working together to harmonize rules and procedures,” said Morente. “It’s high time we put our heads together to ensure that the government gets what it is due.”

In 2018, the BI issued 83,760 special work permits, adding that the DOLE had reported having issued 54,241 alien employment permits, the primary requirement for securing the 9(g) visa.   /muf