CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) here is now investigating a report that dozens of Chinese nationals are working in a steel factory in Misamis Oriental without the necessary work permit from the government.
Felipe Alano Jr., alien control officer for BI in Cagayan de Oro, said an anonymous informant emailed them on Sept. 19 about some 48 Chinese workers at the Keim Hing Steel Corporation in Villanueva town of Misamis Oriental.
Citing information shared by the informant, Alano added that these Chinese workers “have been staying and hiding in the steel plant for years without being discovered.”
Alano further said that the informant even suggested that someone from the BI office “must have been paid off to keep it (under wraps).”
On Sept. 21, BI personnel did an ocular inspection on the steel plant but Alano lamented that the management did not allow them to enter the premises and nobody from the company was made available to answer their queries.
During the visit, Alano said they saw from outside a two-story structure that appeared to be living quarters.
He said they will return to the steel plant once BI Commissioner Jaime Morente issues them a mission order.
The steel company is “not being honest with us,” Alano noted.
“They have the intention to defraud the government because they are hiding something,” he added.
According to the San Martin village government, Keim Hing has been operating since 2016. Village chief Agustin Sabio has written Alano to determine whether the Chinese workers have legal documents to work in the country.
At present, there are about 800 Chinese nationals in the region, most of them working at the Alwana Business Park in the urban village of Cugman here, mainly in offshore gaming operations.
He said the number of Chinese workers was much bigger early this year, but many of them went home when the national government declared a nationwide public health crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic