Filipinos urged to combat social ills, help spur progress

MANILA, Philippines –  Senator Joel Villanueva, in his Independence Day message on Wednesday, urged Filipinos to unite and face the “social ills” that have been impeding the nation’s march to progress.

“May this day be a fitting reminder of our continuing battle against abuse, indifference, and corruption that come in the form of lost opportunities for our countrymen, unsafe work environments being suffered not only by our local workers but also our OFWs, jobs being stolen by illegal foreign workers, among others,” Villanueva said in a statement Wednesday.

“Together, let us unite against these ills and build a nation worthy of the sacrifices of our fallen heroes,” he added.

Villanueva, who chairs the Senate committee on labor, led the upper chamber’s probe into the influx of illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines which stemmed from the arrest of 93 Chinese nationals in an illegal gambling center in Pasig City.

The senator bared that the Bureau of Immigration and Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) lax policies resulted in the influx of illegal foreign workers in the country.

According to DOLE data, close to 116,000 foreigners have been issued an alien employment permit (AEP) since 2015, allowing them to work legally in the Philippines.

Chinese nationals accounted for the biggest bulk of foreign workers holding AEPs, numbering some 52,000, or about 45 percent of the total. (Editor: Gilbert S. Gaviola)

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