IT is a well-known fact that we are a major source of expatriate workers in the world. Is the Philippines now a major destination country for foreign workers? It appears so.
The labor department is now establishing a database for foreign nationals who are employed in the Philippines. Last year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued alien employment permits to 54,241 foreign workers. That number surged to 51,000 foreigners for only the first semester of this year. How many more foreign workers are there who are here on tourist visas but serve as clandestine employees?
A friend of mine told me that some of these Chinese workers pay under the table for the renewal of their tourist visas, and as protection money. The uncertainty of their immigration and work status renders these mostly Chinese workers highly vulnerable and under the control of their “employers,” also of Chinese descent and operating in more than 50 shades of gray, legally speaking.
During the Philippine National Tripartite Preparatory Workshop for the 12th Asean Forum on Migrant Labor held recently at Hotel Jen in Manila, the participants discussed the future of work and labor migration. Director Dominique Tutay of the Bureau of Local Employment briefed us about the labor department’s initiatives in addressing concerns arising from the entry of foreign workers.
Director Tutay said that DOLE is now in the process of increasing the number of labor inspectors specifically for foreign nationals. Companies employing foreign workers are required to obtain the necessary work permits at the cost of P9,000 per alien employment permit (AEP), inclusive of publication and application fees. For permits that will go beyond one year validity, the company would need to pay an additional P4,000 per year.
The challenge lies in communicating this legalization process in various languages and using the media to reach out to as many foreign workers as possible. This is where social-media sites and local Chinese publications can help in partnership with DOLE. If the reality has become that the Philippines is now a labor-destination country, then the government and even the private sector must come up with a social protection and legal infrastructure to ensure that these foreign workers are not prone to exploitation and modern slavery.
I am sure that without proper papers, a worker would be forced to work long hours for a dismal salary, far from that promised him while in China. Some of these POGO workers may actually be victims of forced labor trafficking.
A bilateral labor agreement between China and the Philippines on the entry of their workers may be far from feasible. China deems all forms of gambling as illegal, yet more than half of the alien permits issued this year were for POGO workers. The irony is that when you visit any of the five-star casinos along the Entertainment City zone in Pasay City, the big-time junketeers are mainly from China. These hotels, transportation companies, and other satellite services would require Mandarin-speaking employees. Of course, we could emulate Vietnam and simply ban all these offshore online gaming establishments and prevent the entry of Chinese online gaming workers.
It seems that the present administration has decided on a different track. Based on news reports, the Department of Finance (DOF) said that POGOs must already withhold the monthly 25-percent personal income tax due from their employees—including those without tax identification numbers (TINs)—then remit the taxes to the BIR. An interagency joint memorandum circular also mandated all incoming foreign workers to first secure visas, working permits and TINs to ensure that they would pay the right amount of taxes.
The labor department must be given sufficient support and leeway in regulating and managing the inflow of foreign workers. First and foremost, our government must ensure that these foreign workers are not taking away much-needed jobs from unemployed Filipinos. For those whose applications have been legally processed, these foreign workers should also undergo mandatory cultural and labor orientation seminars, as well as mandatory physical examinations. In the same vein that we seek utmost protection for our OFWs, let us also ensure that foreign workers in our midst are treated humanely, fairly, and sans discrimination or harassment.
That we are now a labor-receiving country seems inevitable, given our proximity to wealthier neighbors combined with our huge potential for economic growth. Our collective desire for economic prosperity, however, must not be at the expense of traditional family and societal values that we as a nation hold dear. The Philippines cannot be a playground for wealthy Chinese mafias that feast on the carcasses of the weaker few. It is but right for our government to determine the kind of human resource management system that would be fair to all, including our own domestic work force, to prevent the trafficking and exploitation of foreign workers.
I am happy that the labor department has been declared as the lead agency in this regard. Enough of these horror stories about corruption in the renewal of tourist visas and in obtaining fake TINs and alien employment permits! Let lessons learned from our 40 years of being a labor-sending country be a springboard for policy discussion on what kind of legal and protective mechanisms should be made available to foreigners, regardless of nationality, legally seeking work in the Philippines.
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Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues. She also represents the OFW sector in the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.